Imagine losing a limb. Now imagine that on top of that loss, you feel pain, not just at the site of amputation, but in the missing limb itself as your brain tries to make sense of scattered signals.
Researchers at the University of New Brunswick’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering are studying whether virtual reality helps patients quiet the signals that cause phantom pain.
“This is a new technique that in a limited field trial showed great promise – where almost everyone had reduced levels of phantom pain,” says institute associate director Dr. Jon Sensinger. “It’s an exciting first step, though time will tell if it’s truly having an impact and if it’s any better than existing treatments.”
Today’s standard treatment for phantom pain uses mirrors to create the impression, from the patient’s perspective, of an intact limb. Over several sessions, the brain can, in essence, be tricked into believing the limb is there, quieting the signals causing pain. But it doesn’t work for everyone.
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Image via University of New Brunswick.