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Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies

Other Complementary Therapies

Systematic reviews of biofeedback

The aim of this article was to provide a general overview of the evidence on the therapeutic effectiveness of biofeedback. Literature searches were carried out to locate all systematic reviews on this subject. These were evaluated according to predefined criteria. Twenty reviews met the inclusion criteria. Their results suggest that various forms of biofeedback are effective as adjunctive treatments of anismus, fecal incontinence, paediatric migraine, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke rehabilitation and temperomandibular disorders. The evidence is inconclusive for asthma, chronic pain, erectile dysfunction, gastrointestinal disorders, hypertension, insomnia, obstructive pulmonary disease, stress management and tinnitus. The evidence is clearly negative for atopic eczema, back pain, tension-type headache and cervicogenic headache.

Ernst E. Systematic reviews of biofeedback. Phys Med Rehab Kuror 2003; 13: 321–4. [Abstract]
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