Phantom Limb Pain

Phantom limb pain was first documented by a French military surgeon in the mid 1500's. Patients complained of severe pain in the missing limb following an amputation. Today, it is well known and documented that virtually all amputees experience some phantom sensations, painful or not.

About 80% of people with phantom limbs feel excruciating pain that they describe as aching, burning, tingling or as the missing limb is being 'crushed in a vise'. There is nothing imagined or phantom about the pain. It is genuine, tangible pain, no different from pain elsewhere in the body. Phantom pain can also occur when a limb becomes paralyzed as after a stroke.

The entire surface of the body is mapped out in the sensory cortex of the brain, an area located in a strip between the two ears. The pain being felt in the phantom limb is because, in the mind, the missing limb is still mapped out and the brain thinks it is still there.

For patients with phantom limb pain, there are several things that can be tried. These methods don't always work for everyone, but they are worth trying to relieve the terrible pain that is sometimes felt. Be sure to ask your doctor if you have any questions before trying these methods.

1. Wrap your stump in a warm, soft towel or soft fabric. The warmth will sometimes increase circulation
which is thought to help phantom pain.

2. Mentally exercise the limb that is not there, in the area where you feel the pain.

3. Mentally relax the missing limb and your stump.

4. Do some mild overall exercise to increase circulation.

5. Exercise the stump.

6. Tighten the muscles in the stump, then release them slowly.

7. Put an Ace wrap bandage or a shrinker sock on the stump. If you wear a prosthesis, put it on and take a
short walk.

8. If you have pain with the prosthesis on, take it and the prosthetic sock off, then put them back on after a few
minutes. Sometimes the stump is being pinched and changing it will relieve the pressure on the nerves.

9. Change positions. If sitting, move around in your chair or stand up to let the blood get down into your
stump.

10. Soak in a warm bath or use a shower massage or whirlpool on your stump. A hot tub is also good.

11. Massage your stump with your hands or have someone else massage it while you try to relax your entire
body.

12. Keep a diary of when pain is most severe and compare it to what you
have been doing..

13. Wrap stump in a heating pad.

Sometimes, self-hypnosis, biofeedback or chiropractic adjustments help. If you have not found relief through home remedies or normal pain medications, a pain center should be considered.

Sometimes mirrors are used to relieve phantom pain due to paralysis of a limb. The patient sits in front of the mirror with the good arm in the same position as the paralyzed arm. The mind is tricked into believing the paralyzed arm is moving and the patient has the sensation that the arm is moving. The patient is then able to take the arm out of its painful clenched position. Patients have reported a huge reduction in pain using this method.

The United Kingdom has created a virtual-reality program to treat patients who have lost limbs and are suffering with phantom pain. A computer-generated virtual-reality system gives patients the illusion that their lost limb is still there. The system creates a virtual mirror image by tracing the remaining physical limb. Patients wear a head set to see a 3D picture of themselves with both limbs. Scientists say that initial tests have shown a reduction of feelings of phantom pain and discomfort. The system has worked for 4 out of 5 patients that have used it. Scientists plan to test the virtual reality system on more patients to see which amputees are most likely to benefit from it.

Children born without a limb can feel a similar sensation to phantom pain and the virtual reality program seems to help them also. There have also been some evidence that stimulating the motor cortex region of the brain (that controls movement) can also reduce phantom limb pain (PLP).