Size reduction using Mirror Visual Feedback (MVF) reduces phantom pain

Abstract

Following limb amputation patients continue to feel the vivid presence of a phantom limb. A majority of patients also experience pain in the phantom and sometimes (as in our case DS) the pain is severe. Remarkably we find that optically ‘resurrecting’ the phantom with a mirror and using a lens to make the phantom appear to shrink caused the pain to ‘shrink’ as well.

Keywords:

• Phantom limb
• Mirror visual feedback
• Neural plasticity
• Phantom pain
• Somatosensory

We thank Eric Altschuler, Richard Gregory, Dick Geckler and Herb Lurie.