Biofeedback Therapy in Midtown East Manhattan
Biofeedback is a fundamental tool for pelvic floor physical therapy. Biofeedback improves neuromuscular control of muscles by measuring muscle activity and translating it into a visual representation that the individual can associate with their own perception of muscle activity. This way, the patient will improve the “proprioception” of the muscles, which is “self” perception. He or she may be able to experience whether the muscles are being contracted too little or too much by comparing them with the visual representation on the screen of the computer. This also allows the therapist to diagnose the pelvic floor muscles and design exercise programs as if it was a “computer game” by asking the patient to contract or relax the muscles following the graphic representation of the computer.
Biofeedback helps patients strengthen muscles; they did not know they had. It can be used to improve the pelvic floor muscles in patients that present incontinence or prolapse. It also helps to relax the muscles in cases such as constipation due to tight muscles, known as "dyssinergia" OR "anism" in which the anal muscles can not relax at the time of defecation. With biofeedback, we can teach patients to relax the muscles by looking at the screen to make a bowel movement possible. It is also helpful in cases where the tightness of the pelvic floor muscles is the cause of pain, such as dyspareunia and vaginismus.