Clinical Trials of Mirror Box Therapy

Mirror box therapy has been found to be highly effective in both small clinical trials (McCabe et al 2003a) and placebo controlled cross over studies on 48 patients (Caccio et al 2009).  After four weeks of therapy for 30-60 minutes each day, the 24 subjects on mirror box therapy all showed substantial decrement in pain (from 8.1 to 5.6 on a 10 point visual scale) whereas the 24 subjects on non-reflecting mirrors showed either no decrease or slight increase in pain. These results are especially important because most treatments for RSD are largely ineffective and because of the the fact that mirror box therapy is inexpensive, non-invasive, and can be self administered at home. A recent meta-analysis by Dohle also confirms its efficacy and clinical utility (Dohle et al 2008).

Cacchio et. al. (2009) Mirror Therapy in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1 of the Upper Limb in Stroke Patients

Dohle et. al. (2008) Mirror Therapy Promotes Recovery From Severe Hemiparesis: A Randomized Controlled Trial