Mirror Therapy for Pain relief

“Twice a day, ten minutes per session, for five weeks and the phantom pain will go away” – Stephen Sumner’s recipe for mirror therapy. This story is of Stephen Sumner who lost his left leg that had been amputated six inches above the knee and his phantom pain. Stephen used the mirror for two weeks, then stopped because the pain had not returned. About a year and a half later, he felt the pain again, and this time he stayed the course for the full five weeks. He hasn’t had phantom pain for over four years. “It’s gone now,” he says. “It’s gone because I treated myself with a mirror.” Stephen is now on a mission to alleviate pain of people suffering from Phantom pain using mirrors. He meets people with amputation, learns about their story and shares his too. He gives a mirror to people with phantom limb pain, teaches them the use of it and thereby alleviates their pain. He is “Mirror Man”; a mirror therapist who first targetted Cambodia, place where landmines and unexploded ordnance killed around 20,000 people and injured 44,000 more between 1979 and 2011. Stephen has travelled around Asia with mirrors on the back of his bicycle to help many amputees suffering from phantom pain.  Stephen offers a simplified explanation of the brain reorganisation theory. Pointing to his head, he says, “You have a commander here that controls the body. The commander has a map of the whole body. When the map doesn’t match the body, the commander panics and you feel pain. This mirror is to trick the commander into thinking the leg still exists, so he stops panicking and the pain goes away.” Mirror therapy is a well know techniques used by therapists all over the world.  Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) offers a novel three stage synaptic exercise process for neuropathic pain involving left/right discrimination, imagined movements and mirror therapy. With patience, persistence and often lots of hard work, GMI gives new hope for treatment outcomes. The “Mirror Man” is dedicated towards helping people to overcome from phantom pain using mirrors, read his full story. -

 See more at:
http://www.physiospot.com/2014/08/23/the-mirror-man/?utm_source=September+2014&utm_campaign=The+Latest+September&utm_medium=email#sthash.oFkwsCvA.dpuf

Aromatherapy & physiotherapy Exercise to Relieve Pain

Medical condition characterized by muscle pain and the presence of “tender points.” Tender points (points in the body that are especially painful when touched) may occur in the arms, legs, neck, shoulders, and back, and are detected at specific locations for the diagnosis of names, including chronic muscle pain syndrome, fibrositis, psychogenic rheumatism, and tension myalgia, fibromyalgia.

People with Pain often experience other symptoms, including fatigue, insomnia, headaches, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, and a heightened sensitivity to light, sound, and odors.

How is Aromatherapy with Essential Oils Used to Pain?

Aromatherapy is used to treat pain because of the ability of essential oils to bring about desired changes in one’s physical and mental states. Specifically, some essential oils appear to increase one’s tolerance of pain, improve one’s general overall emotional state, improve circulation, and, in general, elevate one’s mood. These changes appear to relieve the pain, sensitivity to outside stimuli, and fatigue that are associated with pain.
The essential oils used in treating fibromyalgia are chosen because they have one or more of these properties. For example, some of the essential oils used to relieve sore muscles and joints include black pepper (Piper nigrum), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), juniper (Juniperus communis), and peppermint (Mentha piperita). Essential oils helpful in calming one down include chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), jasmine (Jasminum officinalis), and lavender (Lavendula officinalis). Essential oils used to increase one’s energy are geranium (Pelargonium graveolens), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), and lemon (Citrus limon).

How Exercise helps relieve to Pain?

 Low-impact exercise reduces pain and fatigue – and increases your ability to function.

Recent research shows that exercise can help. A 2007 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that person with pain in a four-month exercise program reported significant improvements in physical function, fatigue, and depression.