Graded Mirror Therapy

The patients that I've been fortunate enough to deal with have all generally been able to get a handle on the idea that through Occupation Therapy sessions there is always a possibility for growth, change, Improvement, and development. In other words, the condition they are in now is not the condition they will be ‘sentenced’ to for the rest of their lives. Occupational therapy is about changing, improving, and offering a way forward with their ability to care for themselves and achieve some measure of independence beyond what they may be enduring at the moment. The psychosocial factors that can inhibit this growth can be categorized as their ‘old way of doing things’ versus the necessity of abandoned the old ways and developing new ways In order to function and even thrive. Stroke patients, in my experience in this rotation, have by far the most difficult time simply because the stroke couples a high level of disability with a high level of uncertainty. It is important to note, however, that a stroke victim may, with early and effective treatment, have a high level of recovery potential as well. The psychosocial factors that a person has previously defined themselves by may change, but

Practitioners use this method to master a bunch of both medical and health conditions like depression, arthritis and tendonitis and much more. It is commonly used to treat conditions that have something to do with pain like headaches and chronic back pains.

Occupational Therapy is a vital segment of the health care field. Individuals in this profession make a difference in the lives of others by helping their patients function effectively despite their disability, illness, or injury. They help by teaching patients many activities of daily living tasks which can include, grooming, toileting, dressing, eating, mobility, and much more! Along with the daily living tasks, Occupational Therapy helps individuals to be productive and successful in ways they want to be, like going school, taking care of others, managing their homes, preparing meals. Most importantly, they help their patients adapt to their environments and increase their independent function by helping them perform tasks with as little help from others as possible. Without Occupational Therapy, some patients with temporary disabilities could have a permanent disability. If individuals receive the Occupational treatments, they can prevent the loss of function.

. . People say the effect is only on the mind. It is no such thing. The effect is on the body, too . . . Variety of form and brilliancy of color in the objects presented to patients are actual means of recovery.”

Cases of ‘phantom limbs’, ‘disappearing phantom limbs’ and ‘positional phantoms’ are a well-written about phenomena. Dr. Sacks describes how sensory messages can be sent to the phantom limbs, causing a neurological condition.

Mirror neurons have been hailed by scientists as the most significant finding in neurology in the past decade, the key to understanding the secrets of human interaction and learning, and as significant to psychology as DNA is to biology. Mirror neurons are a newly-discovered structure of the brain responsible for the firing of neurons during both physical movement and the observation of physical movement. It is these firings during observation of movements that has scientists excited about their relation to learning and interaction. While mirror neurons have been found in both primates and humans, their role in terms of learning and perfecting motor skills is still unclear.

Therapy can help many aspects of a persons life. There are different injuries or birth defects that need to be treated to perform everyday activities. A variety of different therapy methods and treatments, depending on the personal weakness, can help improve someone’s everyday life.

Occupational therapists work with family, relatives, friends and colleagues in order to make the transition less painful and more helpful for the recovering patient. Physical therapist works soon after the injury in the initial recovery course after primary injury while the services of occupational therapists are generally needed in the rehabilitation course when the patient has fully recovered from the initial injury. Provision of physical therapy may improve the situation and mobility of individuals. Physical therapists perform interventive therapies like massage, acupuncture, exercises and manual therapies to improve the functioning of the body. Occupational therapy is performed when the patient has fully recovered and the sole purpose is to improve the quality of life by not letting the disability to affect the life of individuals.

Most of the readings discussed various surveys and the prevalence of phantom limb pain in amputees; the sky-high rates astounded me, especially being that I had not heard of this occurrence until this class. Then again, I am quite unfamiliar with the hardships amputees go through. The authors of Phantom Limb Pain, Steven R Hanling and Ralph E Tuttle shared information gathered from a 2009 survey stating 74.5% of amputees reported phantom limb pain, while only 45.2% reported stump pain. These figures surprised me—I thought a larger percentage would feel stump pain

While there are many ways that a person can specialize in the field of occupational therapy, one of the profession’s draws exists in the potential for variety and diversity. The goal of occupational therapy is to provide therapies and alternatives that allow clients to return to the things that they need to be able to do, and the things they want to be able to do. This is obviously a broad definition, and one that can be achieved in various groups, and through various methods. Occupational therapists can specialize in hand therapy, stroke rehabilitation, driving, community mobility, low vision patients, pediatrics, or geriatrics. In any of these specialties, a therapist can address their patient’s daily living activities, leisure, work, education, or social participation. An increased ability to participate in any of these activities can be facilitated through a variety of treatments: splinting, modalities, adaptive equipment, task modification, environmental modification, or activities centered on desired occupations.

People who had strokes have a hard time getting back on their feet to do ADL’s and their best strategy for gaining their independence is by building new skills. As a patient/client starts to gain experience and build new tactics with their areas of development, they’re more likely to be successful in performing activities by using their newly adapted

Mirrors are being used in places like Iraq by Doctor Jack Tsoa to treat wounded war veterans. The doctor uses the mirror to try and get rid of phantom limb pain. Phantom limb pain can happen when some gets there leg amputated and the nerve endings send messages to the brain telling them that their leg is there and that it hurts.

It is used to stimulate muscle contraction, decrease muscle atrophy and increase the ability of child to be aware of his involved limb especially

How can you repair yourself with a broken, non existing mirror? For many, you don't even have the mirror and the devil has you fooled, looking at a fake picture

Cognitive impairments, motor impairments, and balance impairments are all characterizations of stroke. Quality of life is diminished and functional dependence may occur from this. Mirror therapy is a reflective illusion meant to trick the brain into thinking movement has occurred without pain in the affected limb. A mirror is placed in the participant’s midsagittal plane. The unaffected limb is put in front of it so the participant can only see the intact limb. This is done to block the affected limb so that the patient can only see the reflection of the unaffected limb. This movement seen from the unaffected limb gives the illusion in which inputs are perceived through the affected limb which is behind the mirror (Myoung-Kwonm et al., 2016)