Der Schmerz
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Case Reports
[Mirror therapy for the treatment of phantom limb pain after bilateral thigh amputation : A case report.]
This case study is the first to report successful treatment of bilateral phantom limb pain (PLP) in a patient with bilateral thigh amputation and inefficacious medical treatment using a protocol of graded interventions including mirror therapy (MT). MT is a common treatment for PLP but requires the induction of a visual illusion of an intact limb in the mirror, usually achieved by mirroring the healthy extremity. Here, we illustrate how application of a unilateral prosthesis sufficed to induce the necessary illusion. ⋯ Pain intensity was reduced by more than 85 %; the number of attacks were decreased by more than 90% per day. The analgesic efficacy lasted until the unexpected death of the patient several months later. This case illustrates the mechanisms of MT through overcoming the sensory incongruences underlying the distorted body schema and its efficacy in patients with bilateral amputation.
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Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a standardized and formalized set of clinical sensitivity tests based on subjective (psychophysical) methods, which depends on the cooperation of the subject being investigated. Calibrated stimuli are used to measure the perception and pain thresholds, which provide information on the presence of sensory plus or minus signs. The QST equipment presented mimics natural thermal or mechanical stimuli. ⋯ The majority of QST parameters are normally distributed only after logarithmic transformation (i.e. secondary normalization). With QST a complete somatosensory profile can be obtained within 1 h. The QST is a suitable method for characterizing the function of the somatosensory system in clinical trials and also in clinical practice as a diagnostic procedure.