In just four weeks!

Nov 26, 2007 11:14 GMT  ·  By
The mirror method practiced by U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Alderman (R) of Marion, Illinois
   The mirror method practiced by U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Alderman (R) of Marion, Illinois

Over 90 % of the amputees report severe pain in the "phantom" limb, in many cases a sensation that the arm or leg is not correctly positioned. The pain can be excruciating and common painkiller drugs do almost nothing.

Researches have showed that a mirror 'tricking' the mind that lost limb is still there could ease the sensation. A new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the reflected image of a complete limb in a mirror can significantly relieve phantom limb pain. The mechanism is not known, but the confused brain seems to be helped to decrease pain sensations delivered by the severed nerves.

22 subjects, most of them with part of the leg lost in Iraq, checked three therapy methods. The mirror technique meant patients watched a reflected image of their intact limb for 15 minutes daily attempting to move their legs and feet; this induced the illusion that the "phantom" limb was present and functioning normally.

One group watched a mirror covered by an opaque sheet while attempting to perform the same task. A third group imagined their limbs for 15 minutes moving normally while keeping their eyes closed.

The first four weeks of treatment decreased pain intensity significantly in the mirror group, from an average value of 30 (in a scale up to 100) to about 7, and every subject reported improvement.

The covered mirror groups reported increased pain up to an average value of about 60, in one case pain decreased while three subjects reported higher pain. In the third group, the pain values boomed in the first week to about 60, but after that rapidly decreased.

In the next four weeks, all subjects followed the mirror technique, and their reported pain values decreased significantly in 90 % of the cases. "The majority of people got some relief. The range went from some relief to completely gone. We were surprised that the effect was so strongly positive.", lead author Dr. Jack Tsao, a Navy neurologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, told Reuters.

Next trials will test the method in people with lost arms. "The technique may relieve pain by helping the brain reconcile what the body is feeling with what the eyes are seeing. Although the underlying mechanism accounting for the success of this therapy remains to be elucidated, these results suggest that mirror therapy may be helpful in alleviating phantom pain in an amputated lower limb", wrote the researchers.

Well, my question is: could this method be applied in the phantom penis syndrome, too?