Mirror Therapy

Description

Notes

Comments

Comments from an early user
If you click on my blog, go to the left “archives” and click on August it will take you to the start. Then click on September for more. I’ve put photos of what I do with mirrors and pics of Doc, some chasing waves. Also shots of the area around here. Doctors in UK originally had the idea to consider mirrors in relation to crps after they discovered that phantom limb pain can be stopped using them. What you do is place the mirror so that it is against your body and the missing “leg” side is hidden. Then do movements with the other leg while looking in the mirror so that you are seeing its mirror image. Look at the mirror while you exercise the limb. The brain thinks that it’s the missing limb and that it’s ok. The pain stops. Seems far fetched doesn’t it. There has been research done using mirrors in the same way where the crps sufferer hides the painful side and moves the non painful part whilst looking in the mirror. The first time I tried it was for my left shoulder which has a long standing problem. At the time I did it my whole left side was very painful. I felt like tearing my teeth out and the pain went from m,y head right down the side into my legs and feet. At first I felt the shoulder relax a bit. I put it down to being focused on what I was doing. I only moved my good arm up and down 10 times. More that that and I have pain in that side which would be counterproductive. I did this about 3 times the first day and for several days later. Gradually the pain eased until after three days the all the pain except in the shoulder was gone. I keep doing the therapy and the shoulder eases but has not gone completely. I think there is a mechanical issue causing an irritation of the nerve which ramps things up. I’ve since stopped the pain of Morton’s Neuroma (right foot) and Bursitis (right leg). I’ve still to work out how to make it work with the back. Dr Lorimer Mosely and David Butler wrote a book about the “virtual body”. You can read about it here http://www.noigroup.com

Hope this helps you understand. I think there are far reaching implications for all chronic pain sufferers as after a while the brain is altered in those with chronic pain.

Personal experience - by the Editor of RSD Alert
I believed in mirror therapy. At least, I believed in it theoretically. But, when I first tried it in real life, I was astounded. Theory gave way to experience when a hand specialist recommended me to try it for myself. I responded, "I don't think I need that"; I thought it was a treatment for people who couldn't make headway with normal physical therapy. But I was willing to exercise as hard as necessary, even if it hurt. "Why not give it a try?" she suggested, so I did, and it surprised me utterly. With a large mirror set up on the table, I exercised both my right hand and my left simultaneously. But the left hand was hidden behind the mirror; it was my right hand (the good one) that I could see moving. Although I was conscious that it was my right hand in the mirror, my brain insisted in "believing" that it was the bad hand that was doing so well with these exercises. I knew that it was stiff and inflexible; but my eyes told me it was moving OK and my brain "believed" it. That belief helped me to improve functionality much faster than I could have otherwise. The experience is counter-intuitive, but I guess that sight is our strongest sense and the brain favours sight evidence above what other senses tell it. If I saw a donkey coming towards me roaring like a lion I would think it strange, but I probably wouldn't run away. If I saw a lion coming towards me braying like a donkey I would not stop to ask questions!
Derrick Phillips. November 2010