Rock Valley Physical Therapy uses mirror therapy as a successful treatment option for phantom limb pain.
Phantom limb pain is defined as pain in the limb that isn’t there – pain in the toes, foot, ankle, knee or phantom-limb sensations (sensations in the missing limb other than pain).
Phantom pain is often a chronic, debilitating condition that affects about 80 percent of people following limb loss.
Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Laura McEachern, PT, DPT, CMT, OCS, TPS, is a Therapeutic Pain Specialist, focusing on advanced skills treating chronic and persistent pain as well as using strategies of graded motor imagery (GMI). Mirror therapy is a form of GMI.
McEachern, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Human Performance & Fitness and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from St. Ambrose University is using mirror therapy in her treatment of amputee Derek Oldfather.
On Dec. 29, 2022, Oldfather had his left foot pulled into a conveyor belt at his place of employment. A pair of doctors from the University of Iowa Hospitals performed an on-site amputation to save his life.
Today, Oldfather has turned the physical therapy side of his recovery over to McEachern and Rock Valley Physical Therapy. An ever-dedicated and compassion-filled therapist, McEachern is bringing to life the advantages of mirror therapy to assist Oldfather along his path to recovery and a future of better health.
To bring mirror treatment to life, McEachern positions the mirror across the midline of – in this case Oldfather’s body – so the amputation site is hidden behind the mirror. The mirror she uses will then reflect the image of Oldfather’s intact leg.
“What happens,’’ McEachern said of using mirror therapy. “Is the brain has a map of the body (the homunculus) so even when the limb doesn’t exist, the brain still has a map for that body part.
“Since the brain is what processes pain, there can still be pain that feels like it’s the toes or the foot, despite that body part not being there,’’ McEachern added. “Using mirror therapy to reflect the right leg helps the brain see a foot that looks like the left and see it move which can help decrease the pain felt in that body part.’’
Mirror therapy, McEachern says, can be used in other conditions including chronic pain and complex regional pain syndrome.
“CRPS is a difficult condition that can cause significant pain and disability,’’ McEachern said. “When severe, it can lead to high levels of sensitivity or even neglect of that body part. Mirror therapy, along with other treatments such as laterality training, desensitization, and sensory discrimination can be used to treat CRPS and other painful conditions to help “sharpen the map” of that body part in the brain.’’
Rock Valley Physical Therapy is one of the nation’s largest therapist-owned and therapist-led private physical therapy practices in the nation. It features 61 clinics across Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. For more information, go to www.rockvalleypt.com.
By: Johnny Marx, Storyteller
Photo by: Tom Loewy