Desensitization Techniques Using Mirror Box Therapy

Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy May Help Treat CRPS CRPS Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy May Help Treat CRPS

If hugging your loved ones is something you would do anything to avoid because of your fear of pain, you may be suffering from Allodynia or Hyperalgesia, two symptoms very common in a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). CRPS is a disease that happens after an injury heals, but the nervous system "breaks" and the nerves endlessly report disproportionate pain about the injury, keeping the inflammatory response open forever causing pain, burning, swelling, discoloration and more. There is no cure for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS, and there are treatments available like Desensitization Therapy for CRPS. But, for some, too much pressure or pain due to the hypersensitivity may cause the condition to worsen. But, there is a middle ground where you can still do the actions of Desensitization Therapy, without the pain through Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy for CRPS.

The best thing about this is that if you cannot stand even the slightest touch for a short time on your affected limb, it may be helpful to start conduct the Desensitization Therapy for CRPS on the unaffected limb first.

What is CRPS?

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS, also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, RSD until the name was changed in 1994 when the IASP changed the name officially) is truly devastating. It leaves patients and families suffering is it's wake of suffering and Suicide. CRPS is usually caused by an injury which can trigger the disease at any time. CRPS has many symptoms, including disproportionate, burning pain, cold or hot skin, increased sensitivity to the skin, and swelling to the affected limb. Desensitization Therapy for CRPS is just one of the many different treatments that is known and available for CRPS, but there is no known cure. 

At present, there is;

  • NO approved therapies
  • NO guarantee of pain meds
  • NO doctor training
  • NO awareness

Most Painful Disease Known to Humankind

CRPS ranks the highest score (42 out of a possible 50) compared to other experiences in the McGill Pain Index - which compares the most painful events one could ever experience, including unprepared childbirth, cutting off a limb, passing kidney stones, etc., and it ranks this disease at the very top, based on several factors, including:

  • There is NO KNOWN CURE
  • The pain NEVER CEASES
  • There are NO APPROVED THERAPIES that will bring the pain down to a zero
  • Nothing the patient can do guarantees remission.

For a list of symptoms, click here. 

CRPS Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Skin Discoloration

Combining Mirror Box Therapy and Desensitization Therapy

Choosing to combine Desensitization Technique with Mirror Box Therapy is completely up to you and what you feel you are ready for based on your pain levels and pain tolerance. If you feel that the different Desensitization Therapy for CRPS techniques are too painful for you, and you fear it will activate your Sympathetic Nervous System and send you into fight-or-flight response, spilling Cortisone, Adrenalin, and Norepinephrine into your system, causing a Flare-Up, it could be that Desensitization Therapy on the affected limb isn't right for you.

You may already be in Adrenal Fatigue, or suffering from Posterior Orthostatic Tachacardia Syndrome (POTS), from the draining of these chemicals and there is a good chance that losing more chemicals is not something you can afford  right now.

Remember, just because your therapist or doctors want you to do Desensitization Therapy for CRPS, it's important that you become your own advocate and start where you are most comfortable and work your way up. 

You know you and your tolerance best.

Does Desensitization Techniques Using Mirror Box Therapy for CRPS Work?

Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy for CRPS is a treatment that allows your brain to activity participate in believing that you are touching and desensitizing the limb that hurts, but in reality, you are touching the opposite limb. But, as there is no cure for CRPS, every treatment works differently in each person. It's up to you and your clinical team on whether you Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy for CRPS is right for you. 

In some CRPS cases it has been reported that the patient has seen the healthy limb turn purple when in fact it has not and the therapist confirmed it was not turning purple. This shows how powerful the brain is and how it truly it is possible to overcome the perception of pain through Desensitizion Therapy of CRPS through Mirror Box Therapy.

5. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome has taken control of our fight-or-flight instincts, but treatments like Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy for CRPS will help fight back & gain control again

DYI Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy

Do-It-Yourself Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy isn't difficult or hard to do, in fact it is something that you could do everyday in your own home.  Many people who have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS only leave the house to go to doctors appointments due to the pain of leaving the home, vibraion of the vehicle, sunlight and more, and the more you can do at home, the better. 

The good news is, you can do this one at home!  All you need is different textured items that you have collected around the home, a trusted helper that will support you, be understanding and supportive of you and your health situation, and your doctors support. 

Items or Objects to Use

  • Cotton Balls or Squares
  • Terry Cloth Washcloth
  • Sheepskin 
  • Latex Gloves
  • Electric Toothbruth (not the toothbrush side)
  • Memory Foam
  • Styrofoam
  • Q-Tip

Steps to Complete Desensitization Therapy for CRPS at Home

  1. Get a helper and ask them collect 6 different textured items from around the home. (This can include; cotton balls, latex gloves, cardboard, cotton washcloth, paper, wool, etc.
  2. Ensure that your helper has a stopwatch or egg timer available.
  3. Tell your helper what their pain level is for the affected limb on a scale fron 1-10 before you start the activity.
  4. Set the mirror between the legs or insert the affected arm into the Mirror Box that is hidden from your view. 
  5. Ask your helper to begin by choosing any one of the texture and then starting the timer for 3 minutes. 
  6. Your helper should lightly brush the texture that they selected across your skin in a downward direction from elbow to wrist (away from the heart) or from knee to ankle to engage with the parasympathetic system (this will help so that it will be more relaxing as going in the opposite direction will engage the sympathetic system which can cause anxiety and stress).
  7. As long as you can bear it, use each texture for 3-5 minutes (work your way up to 5 min). This will help retrain the pain receptors in the area.  *Note - It is helpful if the first session is only 1 minute, and at each session, the time increases until the sufferer can withstand the touch successfully for 1 minute, then increase to 2 minutes and so on.  
    1. Make a rule at the beginning that if you ask the helper to stop, they have to stop immediately.
    2. The point is to desensitize the affected limb and to NOT engage the sympathetic system. If you start to feel burning or gets irritable, anxious, start to cry, or feel dizzy, nauseous at any time, it is best to stop, get a drink of water, and only start once you are ready. 
    3. If not, it is best to stop for the day and resume at the next session - either later in the day or the next day.
  8. Alternating textures on the leg for a maximum of 5 min for each texture for no longer than 30 min total per day.  The goal is to tell the pain receptors that light touch should not cause pain in a limb and to stop sending pain signals to the brain.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome may control what you do during the day, but you can start to take control again!

Frequently Asked Questions

We know you have some questions, so we have answered some of the frequently asked questions here:

What is happening with the limb that has CRPS?

Easy! You are hiding it behind a mirror and it is safe, sound and un-touched!

What am I actually doing if am I am not doing therapy with the limb that is hurting?

You are only actually touching and desensitizing the non-painful limb that is in front of the mirror and being reflected to "appear" as if it is the CRPS limb! The trick is that your brain doesn't know the difference.

This is similar to Mirror Box Therapy except you are combining it with Desensitization Therapy.

Is this similar to Phantom Limb Therapy?

This works so well that it is used for Phantom Limb Therapy when amputees get Phantom Itch. Phantom itch has been reported as the most similar condition to CRPS.

How often Do I need to do this?

It does take a commitment and it won't happen overnight. Therapists who work in patients recommend that Desensitization Techniques using Mirror Box Therapy for CRPS be done with a therapist or at-home at least 3-times per week at a minimum.


  • Russell Semmler; PT, DPT, ATC Litchfield Park ; Website:
  • Healthline: June 29, 2018; Article Title: Everything You Should Know About Allodynia: Website:



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