Mirror Therapy Used for Treating Phantom Limb Pain

1. Introduction:

Pain is defined as unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage .It is the most common reason for physician consultation in the United States. It is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and can significantly interfere with a person's quality of life and general functioning. Pain can be devided as physical or pscychological pain according to its cause. physical pain can be divided into nociceptive and non nociceptive pain according to pain arising place. Nociceptive Pain arises from the stimulation of specific pain receptors. These receptors can respond to heat, cold, vibration, stretch and chemical stimuli released from damaged cells. While Non Nociceptive Pain arises from within the peripheral and central nervous system (1).

This diagram may help illustrating the Pain classification:

Somatic pain detect by nerves located in the skin and deep tissues. These specialized nerves, which is called nociceptors, pick up sensations related to temperature, vibration and swelling in the skin, joints and muscles. Somatic pain characterized by sharp and well localised, and can often be reproduced by touching or moving the area involved(1).

Another type of the nociceptive pain is the visceral pain which is the pain felled when the internal organs are damaged or injured. specific receptors (nociceptors) for stretch, inflammation, and (ischaemia) is responciple to receive this type of pain . usually visceral pain characterized by poor localization and feeling like deep ache, sometimes being cramping. It can produces referred pain(1).

Neuropathic pain ,which is a type of non nociceptive pain, is caused by damage to of ...

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