You would think that getting a limb amputated would be the worst experience of your life. But what if you had chronic pain coming from the limb that no longer exists? This is what happens in phantom limb. The person with the amputated limb will feel constant pain and/or pressure, belonging to the limb that no longer exists. This is where the perception of vision and cutaneous senses collide. You visibly can not see the limb any longer, yet you feel pain from that limb like it still exists. There is no cure for this issue, but there are several treatment that you can do. One of the most popular treatments is the mirror illusion. In this treatment, you place a mirror in between the amputated limb and the regular one, with the mirror facing the regular limb. This creates the illusion that you have both your limbs and you can proceed to massage or move the phantom limb around. This has helped many amputees in dealing with some of the pain and helping moderate their chronic phantom limb, allowing them to live a semi-normal life.
Below I have attached a video of an interview with a veteran who suffers from phantom limb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrqi1B9Xbt0
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment