Mirror Mind
Kal Cobalt
http://www.realitysandwich.com/mirror_mind

Phantom limb pain consistently baffles the medical community.
Theories abound as to its cause, but they are only conjecture, and no
consistently effective treatment exists -- until now. Clinical trials
of "mirror therapy" at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have yielded
surprising and welcome results.

Mirror therapy consists of positioning a mirror in such a way that
the intact limb is reflected in the position of the amputated limb.
Patients flex and stretch the intact limb while looking in the
mirror, creating an illusion for the mind that both limbs are
present.

After one month of mirror therapy, all patients in the clinical trial
reported "significantly less" phantom pain. Half the patients
performing the same routine with the mirror covered experienced an
increase in pain, and those who only visualized the treatment
experienced a 67% rate of decreased pain. When these patients were
switched to mirror therapy, 90% experienced decreased pain.

A similar study on mirror massage seems to corroborate the results of
this study.

The prevailing theory on phantom pain's origin is that the brain's
ability to tell where a limb is located, which does not alter after
amputation, is in conflict with the visual input of the missing limb.
This conflict causes neurons to misfire, which sometimes results in a
perception of pain. By bringing the visual input in alignment with
the body's proprioception in mirror therapy, the brain is tricked
into thinking both limbs remain present. Misfiring lessens, and pain
decreases.

http://www.realitysandwich.com/mirror_mind