Phantom limb syndrome is a condition in which patients experience sensations, whether painful or otherwise, in a limb that does not exist.1 Phantom pain originates due to a condition called as learned paralysis.2 When patients suffering from stroke or those who had road traffic accident undergo amputation, their memory of paralysed limb remains intact while the limb no longer exists. That is, the learned component of paralysis gets transferred to the phantom limb. Could the symptoms of phantom limb syndrome be an example for Aashraya Asiddha Hetwaabhaasa? An Ayurvedic perspective on phantom limb would be that the phantom sensations originate after the amputation of the limb (Hastha/Paada) because amputation only destroys the Sparshanendriya Adhistaana i.e., Tvak, while leaving the Sparshanendriya Buddhi intact. This, coupled with the Smriti of the paralysed limb, leads to phantom limb pain. As the source of the pain is the Smriti of the paralysed limb itself, designing methods that erase this Smriti would alleviate the phantom limb pain. This is achieved by using the mirror box. Mirror box therapy involves projecting visual feedback (moving the normal arm while watching the mirror) that conflicts the earlier Smriti (learned paralysis). Mirror box therapy works because it uses Smriti Kaarana – Roopagrahana, Saadrusya and Abhyaasa that contradict the earlier Smriti of the paralysed limb. The use of mirror box to cure phantom limb pain demonstrates that Smriti Kaarana could be a useful tool to cure diseases of Indriya and Manas origin.
Phantom limb syndrome, learned paralysis, SmritiKaarana, Prapti-Aprapti mismatch
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