Virtual Reality Helps Phantom Limb Pain

New Scientist Tech has posted a great article about how virtual reality is allowing amputees with phantom limb pain to get relief by wiggling around a virtual appendage.

The person using the system wears a head-mounted display and operates a controller with their remaining limb. The system lets them control a virtual arm or a leg, which is shown in 3D in place of their missing limb.

Many people who lose a limb experience the sensation that it is still attached to their body. This is also often accompanied by a feeling of pain in the missing appendage – a condition that can be very severely debilitating.

It's thought to work by tricking never pathways in the brain that have shut down after the loss of a limb into opening up again. Each patient was asked to do things in virtual reality like catch a ball or step on highlighted squares. Next up? Playing Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution.

Virtual reality system combats phantom-limb pain [New Scientist Tech]