In a recently published case study, Beth Darnall (Darnall, 2009) details the case of a 35 year old man who lost a log as a result of an auto accident. The patient began experiencing phantom limp pain immediately after surgery and a host of pharmacological and psychological treatments failed to adequately control the pain. Mirror therapy was then begun. He purchased a long mirror and laid it down on the floor and positioned his intact leg alongside the mirror so that it appeared that he was viewing two intact limbs.
For about 20-30 minutes 3 times per week, the patient followed an unstructured protocol of his own devising, in which he exercised his intact foot and watched the movements in the mirror. He reported decreased pain, increased control, and a sense of enjoyment. After engaging in the mirror therapy 20 mins daily for 1 month, he reported complete resolution of the phantom pain. Interestingly he reported that if he missed his regular mirror therapy practice the phantom pain would return within 1-2 days but resuming regular practice eliminated the pain once again.
I think these results couldn’t be cooler. Here was a super simple, low-cost, non-pharmacological therapy, self-administered at home, that was able to kill a severe pain, substantially reduce reliance on opioids and other pain meds, and enhanced the patient’s sense of self efficacy and control.
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