Mirror visual feedback – mirror therapy in neurorehabilitation

Abstract

Mirror is a well-established tool in the movement rehabilitation,providing real-time visual feedback to assist in the retraining.However, mirror visual feedback may be used also in therapy inits own right. The mirror therapy (MT) is a method based oncreating artificial visual feedback. MT was proposed for treatingpain syndrome, such as phantom pain and complex regionalpain syndrome of type 1 and 2, as well as for motor rehabilitationin stroke patients with hemiparesis and in patients after arm surgery.The main principle of MT is thought to be restoration ofdamaged feedback from ill/amputated limb. One of possiblemechanisms of MT is activation of mirror neurons, actingboth during execution and observation of action. Clear advantagesof MT are its simplicity, availability and, most importantly,its patient-directed character.

Keywords

• mirror therapy
• neurorehabilitation
• stroke hemiparesis
• visual feedback