Listen to an interview with Catherine Mercier on the “Les Éclaireurs” Radio-Canada show, in which she explains how virtual reality can help treat phantom pain which persists after a limb has been amputated.
The concept of pain that persists after a limb has been amputated or is non functional seems like a paranormal experience. But it is actually a natural and complex phenomenom. To reprogram the brain, Catherine Mercier, director of the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, explains how virtual reality can help alleviates patient’s sufferings.
Mirrors were the first effective object use to treat phantom pain. The patient must put his phantom limb behind the mirror and the intact limb in front of it. When the person moves his or her intact hand, he or she sees the symetrical movement. We then ask the person to do the same with the phantom limb. The motor signal is sent and the mirror allows to get corresponding visual information. And pain slowly fades with time.
Read the rest of this text and listen to the interview (in French) on the Radio-Canada website: La réalité virtuelle pour chasser les douleurs fantômes
