Abstract
Up to 90% of amputees experience sensations in their phantom limb, often including strong, persistent phantom limb pain (PLP). Standard treatments do not provide relief for the majority of people who experience PLP, but virtual reality (VR) has shown promise. This study provides additional evidence that game-like training with low-cost immersive VR activities can reduce PLP in lower-limb amputees. The user of our system views a real-time rendering of two intact legs in a head-mounted display while playing a set of custom games. The movements of both virtual extremities are controlled by measurements from inertial sensors mounted on the intact and residual limbs. Two individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation underwent multiple sessions of the VR treatment over several weeks. Both participants experienced a significant reduction of pain immediately after each VR session, and their pre-session pain levels also decreased greatly over the course of the study. Although preliminary, these data support the idea that VR interventions like ours may be an effective low-cost treatment of PLP in lower-limb amputees.
Highlights
Individuals who undergo amputation commonly experience the sensation that the missing extremity is still present, a phenomenon known as a “phantom limb” (PL) [1]
We describe our preliminary findings in the treatment of phantom limb pain (PLP) using a low-cost virtual reality (VR) system that provides an immersive and responsive virtual representation of the intact and missing lower extremities that the user can control through natural motion of his or her intact and residual limbs
Preliminary data from the two participants suggests that our VR system may be a useful therapy for PLP
Summary
Individuals who undergo amputation commonly experience the sensation that the missing extremity is still present, a phenomenon known as a “phantom limb” (PL) [1]. A significant proportion of individuals who experience a PL—from 65 to 70% in many studies— experience persistent and debilitating pain in the missing limb, a condition known as phantom limb pain (PLP) [2, 3]. PLP typically appears immediately after or within 1 week of amputation, but in rare cases it has been reported to begin months or years after amputation [1]. Its frequency and characteristics vary across individuals. Some individuals may report foreshortening of the PL, a phenomenon known as “telescoping,” which is associated with an increase in PLP [5, 6]
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