Biofeedback in overactive bladder.

Biofeedback is a form of learning or re-education in which the participant is retrained within a closed feedback loop. Information about one or more of the patient's normally unconscious physiologic processes is made available to the patient as a visual, auditory, or tactile signal. Objective responses are recorded on a polygraph trace so that they can be easily observed. Subjective responses are more difficult to monitor and it is often difficult to separate these effects of biofeedback from the placebo effect. Biofeedback has been successfully employed in cases of urinary incontinence due to detrusor instability. Indeed, a recent report has shown that biofeedback-assisted behavioral treatment is more effective than either oxybutynin or placebo in the treatment of urge and mixed urinary incontinence in older, community-dwelling women. Patients embarking on biofeedback need to be well motivated and intelligent enough to understand what is expected of them. The treatment is time consuming for both the patient and the operator, but the benefits of successful treatment include a reduction in morbidity and side effects associated with other therapies. Biofeedback can be employed as an adjunct to other forms of treatment, such as drug therapy, and is particularly useful in children.