Therapists Using Mirrors To Help Heal Stroke Victims
By Lynn Adkins
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Therapists are using mirrors to help stroke victims get back use of damaged limbs.
The brain can be tricked to use other ways to move damaged limbs, according to Laura Lee Smith, certified hand therapist at Bacharach Institute in Pamona.
She explains that with graded motor imagery, a stroke patient visualized using his damaged left hand, then his good right hand moved in front of a mirror. The brain saw two hands in motion and then the brain takes over.
"When I put him in front of the mirror, he couldn't believe it when he started moving his left hand and he progressed from there and got full sensation." said Smith. "He's eating and he's starting to write again with his left hand, he's driving with both hands."
The therapy was first used for patients in pain after amputations.