Mirrors help treat SWO veterans for phantom pains

Tue, 02/18/2025 - 00:55

Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov

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Medics at the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University have begun to introduce a new technique for treating phantom pain in people who have lost limbs into clinical practice. The technique, which uses a system of mirrors, was named "FaBo Mirror". It has primarily found application in the rehabilitation of combat veterans. The new approach is used in several medical institutions, in particular, in the War Veterans Hospital No. 3. The possibilities of the method have already been tested by more than 100 people, and more than 70% of them have positive results.

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"Overcoming pain syndrome after the loss of upper or lower limbs is the main condition for comprehensive rehabilitation. Such pains do not allow a person to focus on anything. They arise involuntarily, and even when the patient does not experience them, he expects them and remains tense. The painful condition can last from a few minutes to several hours, and it is very exhausting. Both physically and emotionally," said Vera Nikishina, head of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Pirogov University.

Phantom pains arise due to neural traces that can "intensify" if the painful sensations continue for a long time or are often repeated. Their treatment with mirror therapy is based on the principle of neuroplasticity, i.e. the brain's ability to change in response to experience. In the course of sessions with patients there is a weakening of old pain "traces" and the formation of new neural circuits not associated with the sensation of pain, explained the specialist.