Phantom Limb Treatment

After his right leg was destroyed in an explosion while he was in Iraq, army sergeant Nicholas Paupore experienced excruciating phantom limb pain. Even morphine didn’t help. Then he underwent a simple daily procedure.  A mirror was placed at a strategic angle to reflect his intact leg, tricking his brain into registering two healthy legs. The pain almost immediately subsided. A year after therapy, he had only occasional, milder pain, and needed no medication. In some patients, mirror therapy has eliminated phantom pain entirely.