Augmented reality can help amputees tackle phantom limb pain, researchers have reported.
A Swedish study tested the benefits of enabling amputees to visualise a lost limb as if in a mirror.
The system that was tested allowed amputees to move the phantom limb and see it move on a screen.
Earlier studies have shown that using a mirror can help with the problem – allowing patients to learn to manipulate the missing limb to move it out of apparently painful positions.
Some 14 patients took part in the first study of the Swedish system, reported in The Lancet.
Researchers found that treatment, on average, halved the intensity, quality and frequency of phantom limb pain.
This continued into daily life – leading to a 61% reduction in sleep interruptions from pain and a 43% reduction in the amount that pain interfered with daily activities.
Researcher Professor Max Ortiz Catalan, of the Chalmers University of Technology, said: "Phantom limb pain is a difficult condition to treat that can seriously hinder patients’ quality of life.
"The results from our study suggest that it may be useful to ‘exercise’ the phantom limb. Our treatment offers an engaging way to do this while also providing a non-invasive and non-pharmacological treatment which was found to reduce chronic pain with no observed side effects."
He added: "Our findings now need to be confirmed in a large randomised clinical trial."
Lancet 1 December 2016 [abstract]
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