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[1] therapy used for the treatment of phantom limb pain and analysis of limb telescoping. In this image, the mirror helps to represent the patient's perception of their body. Limb telescoping is the progressive shortening of a phantom limb as the cortical regions are reorganized following an amputation. During this reorganization, proximal ...
Treatment with mirror therapy soon expanded beyond its origin in treating phantom limb pain to treatment of other kinds of one-sided pain and loss of motor control, for example in stroke patients with hemiparesis. In 1999 Ramachandran and Eric Altschuler expanded the mirror technique from amputees to improving the muscle control of stroke ...
Phantom pain is seen more often in older adults as compared to individuals with congenital limb deficiency or amputation at an early age. [15] It has also been reported that individuals with a prior history of chronic pain, anxiety, or depression are more likely to develop phantom pain than those without these risk factors. [16]
However, only a small percentage will experience painful phantom limb sensation (phantom pain). These sensations are relatively common in amputees and usually resolve within two to three years without treatment. Research continues to explore the underlying mechanisms of phantom limb pain (PLP) and effective treatment options. [2]
Losing an anatomical part through amputation sets a person up for complex perceptual, emotional, and psychological responses. [4] [5] Such responses include phantom limb pain, which is the painful feeling some amputees incur after amputation in the area lost. [6] [7] Phantom limb pain permits a natural acceptance and use of prosthetic limbs. [8]
Ramachandran thought that phantom pain might be caused by the mismatch between different parts of an amputee's nervous systems: the visual system says the limb is missing, but the somatosensory system (processing body sensations such as touch and limb position) says the limb is still there. The so-called mirror box was a simple apparatus that ...
Phantom limb pain is considered to be caused from functional cortical reorganization, sometimes called maladaptive plasticity, of the primary sensorimotor cortex. Adjustment of this cortical reorganization has the potential to help alleviate PLP. [10] One study taught amputees over a two-week period to identify different patterns of electrical ...
Davis has also worked on variety of chronic pain conditions, concussion, and phantom pain. She has demonstrated that findings support the hypothesis that the thalamic representation of the amputated limb remains functional in amputees with phantom sensations. [8]