END THE PAIN PROJECT MIRROR THERAPY WORKSHOPS EXPAND TO SIERRA LEONE

Jean Luc Ngambre training Mondeh Abdulaziz

Cutting off peoples’ limbs, in most cases their hands, was one of the brutal strategies used by members of the Revolutionary United Front to terrify people to support them during the 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone. 

Some 27,000 Sierra Leoneans are estimated to have been disabled or have had one or more limbs amputated during that time. Many of these amputees still suffer phantom limb pain years after the war.

End The Pain Project addresses this lingering problem with the training of Mondeh Abdulaziz on November 19-20, 2016 by ETPP Senior Trainer Jean Luc Ngambre in Burera District, Rwanda. 

 Mondeh Abdulaziz, Mirror Therapy Practitioner

Mr. Abdulaziz received certification as an ETPP Mirror Therapy Practitioner on December 5, 2016 and will offer the effective pain-eliminating therapy at peer-to-peer workshops for amputees  in Sierra Leone upon his return.

Sierra Leone now joins Rwanda as part of ETPP Pan-Africa headed by Jean Luc Ngambre.

Video of Mirror Therapy Workshop August 20, 2014, Gihembe Refugee Camp, Rwanda

This video of the Mirror Therapy Workshop held on August 20, 2014 at Gihembe Refugee Camp, Rwanda is conducted in Rwandan.

However, enthusiasm for the procedure is captured on the faces of the participants.

Attendees at ETPP Mirror Therapy Workshop at Gihembe Refugee Camp, Rwanda

On August 20, 2014, a Mirror Therapy Workshop led by ETPP Representative, Jean Luc Ngarambe (far left) was held at the Gihembe Refugee Camp in Rwanda.

The Workshop was attended by fifteen amputees and ten family members who will act as coaches for their kin in home-based therapy procedures.

Amputee and Family Member Coach

The participants, Rwandan refugees from the Congo, were each given a mirror and guided through a Mirror Therapy session by Jean Luc Ngarambe.

Upper Limb Amputee Involved in Mirror Therapy

The amputees expressed gratitude for this focus on relief of existing Phantom Limb Pain and planned to follow the thirty-day schedule faithfully. Their outcome will be posted in October.

Lower Limb Amputee Involved in Mirror Therapy

Affordable Prosthetic Knee Joint for Developing Countries Amputees

ETPP Mirror Therapy Workshop Focuses On Cardiovascular Amputees

Vascular Amputee uses Mirror

A recent Mirror Therapy Training Workshop at Holy Family Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.  for thirteen staff members focused on Mirror Therapy for Cardiovascular amputees.

A physiotherapist at Holy Family noted that her cardiovascular amputee clients usually suffer less intense pain in their phantom limbs than clients who were involved in a traumatic accident, perhaps because they do not carry a 'frozen' image connected to their phantom limb. 

The volunteer, a recent below knee amputee had been experiencing disruptive sleep because of phantom pain. Further investigation determined that he sensed his foot and toes contracted into his knee stump, a situation which would have complicated the mirror therapy treatment. 

Working as a team, the trainer and amputee brought the phantom limb down to the level of the intact limb. This adjustment will also help balance when learning to walk with a new prosthetic.

If neuropathy is evident in the 'intact' foot of a cardiovascular amputee, it may present further complications. A possible solution is for the client to wear a plain sock on the intact foot so that the mirror image limb is believable. 

 

New Research on Neurological Signals to Control Lower-Limb Prostheses

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, and the University of Houston, Texas, have joined forces on a new, four-year, $1.2 million collaborative project to use neurological signals to control lower-limb prostheses and create a prototype device. Their work is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

In recent years, researchers have developed powered prosthetic devices that use internal motors to improve the motion of the artificial limb. The goal of the NSF project is to improve the connection between the prosthesis and the person using it with sensors to pick up the neuromuscular control signals from residual muscles in the area where the prosthesis is connected to its user. The aim is to develop an algorithm that translates those neuromuscular signals into machine language that will control the powered prosthesis—making it easier for the user to move seamlessly from standing up, to walking across the room, to climbing the stairs.

The team also plans to build a prototype powered prosthesis that incorporates the new technology and will be exploring ways to use neurological signals from the brain to control prosthetic legs.

This is important for patients who have little or no residual muscle in the area of the missing limb because that lack of muscle makes it difficult to pick up neuromuscular signals. In those cases, signals picked up directly from the brain may be able to control the prosthesis.