Does mirror box therapy work?
This review found that mirror therapy can be safe and effective. In fact, it improved upper and lower limb movement in affected limbs and the ability to conduct daily activities for up to and potentially beyond 6 months after stroke, with no side effects reported.
What is the mirror box technique?
It involves placing the affected limb behind a mirror, which is sited so the reflection of the opposing limb appears in place of the hidden limb. A Mirror box is a device which allows the clinician to easily create this illusion.
How do you do mirror box therapy?
Use a mirror box or place the side of a mirror against your chest so that the reflective side faces your unaffected hand/arm and your affected hand/arm is hidden behind the mirror. Lean forward so that you can see the reflection of your unaffected arm in the mirror.
How often should you do mirror therapy?
How often should I do mirror therapy? You should aim to complete four to five sessions a day, for five to ten minutes at a time. We recommend that you should keep a daily diary of your sessions and that you try to do your mirror therapy programme ‘little and often’ throughout the day.
How long does it take for mirror therapy to work?
Mirror therapy helps relieve this pain (after numerous sessions) by helping the brain recognize and “feel” the arm. As a result, the pain decreases in as little as 3 weeks.
Is mirroring therapy easy?
Mirror therapy is actually quite easy to do at home and many people find it a fun way of having additional therapy for their hand and arm.
When is mirror box therapy used?
Mirror therapy is used to improve motor function after stroke. During mirror therapy, a mirror is placed in the person’s midsagittal plane, thus reflecting movements of the non‐paretic side as if it were the affected side.
Who can benefit from mirror therapy?
At the end of treatment, mirror therapy moderately improved movement of the affected upper and lower limb and the ability to carry out daily activities for people within and also beyond six months after the stroke. Mirror therapy reduced pain after stroke, but mainly in people with a complex regional pain syndrome.
How long does mirror therapy take?
A typical mirror therapy session should last about 30 minutes, but patients can split this time up into three 10-minute or two 15-minute sessions, if preferred.
What is the goal of mirror therapy?
Mirror therapy is a type of therapy that uses vision to treat the pain that people with amputated limbs sometimes feel in their missing limbs. Mirror therapy does this by tricking the brain: it gives the illusion that the missing limb is moving, as the person looks at the real, remaining limb in a mirror.