Phantom limb pain is pain in extremities that are no longer present after an amputation. Nevertheless, patients can describe very precisely where it hurts and how severe the pain is.
Phantom limb pain is not imaginary. Some of those affected can feel so much pain that they even attempt suicide. This shows how important it is for you to consult a doctor if you suffer from phantom pain.
Phantom limb pain can be attributed to changes in the brain @ kanpisut /AdobeStock
The exact cause of phantom limb pain is still unknown. However, psychological and physical processes are involved.
There are currently three main scientific models of how phantom limb pain develops:
- Peripheral causes: pain during the regeneration of nerves, neuromas and the irritation of blind-ending nerves in the amputation stump
- Spinal causes: Could be found directly in the spinal cord
- Central nervous causes: May lie in a reorganization of pain-perceiving structures in the brain, e.g. in the thalamus and cortex
Psychologically, the body appears to continue to exist as a whole in the brain, even after amputation of body parts. Therefore, certain stimulus patterns that promote phantom pain also persist.
Phantom limb pain is a common phenomenon in patients after amputation. An estimated 50 to 60 percent of patients experience pain in the amputated body part after the operation. Phantom limb pain occurs in 85 to 97 percent of patients within the first month after surgery.
Phantom pain is often described as an attack of pain, rather than pain.
The quality of the pain is usually
- stabbing
- cutting
- burning or
- cramping
As mentioned above, in some cases the pain can be so severe that those affected attempt suicide.
The diagnosis of phantom limb pain is usually based on the patient's description. However, doctors must rule out pathological changes. They therefore usually carry out further examinations.
Above all, inflammation, circulatory disorders and hardening in the area of the amputation stump must be ruled out as causes of pain.
To do this, doctors use imaging procedures such as
The treatment for phantom limb pain depends primarily on the duration and intensity of the pain. The treatment methods used do not differ from general pain treatment in the area of acute pain or chronic pain.
The following treatment methods are used for phantom pain:
- Drug pain therapy (e.g. using ibuprofen, NSAIDs, opiates)
- Physical/manual therapy
- Psychosomatic treatment approaches
- Thalamic stimulation
- Mirror therapy
- Neural therapy and
- Other alternative healing methods
In recent years, another promising therapy has also been developed, the myoelectric prosthesis.
This involves stimulating the nerve endings in the stump area so that the function of the lost body part is restored for the brain.
Mirror therapy tricks the brain by placing the healthy body part in front of the mirror as if it were the missing part @ Köpenicker /AdobeStock
As with other pain conditions, the treatment of phantom limb pain can be very lengthy. Even with successful treatment and freedom from pain, phantom limb pain can recur.
Nevertheless, the prognosis for phantom limb pain is generally good. Between 30 and 90 percent of those affected can experience relief or even freedom from pain.
Patients with phantom limb pain are best treated in an outpatient pain clinic or by a specialist pain doctor. Specialists in neurology and non-medical care providers, such as physiotherapists, are also possible contacts.
