A 45-year-old man presented with phantom limb pain and phantom limb sensation 12 weeks after an above-elbow amputation of his right arm. He underwent seven sessions of acupuncture at weekly intervals carried out by his general practitioner on his intact left arm, with complete relief of the phantom limb pain and considerable improvement of the phantom limb sensation of his right arm. This case ...

BACKGROUND Phantom limb and complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS1) are characterized by changes in cortical processing and organization, perceptual disturbances, and poor response to conventional treatments. Graded motor imagery is effective for a small subset of patients with CRPS1. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether graded motor imagery would reduce pain and disability for a more gener...

This article explores the phenomenon of "phantom pain." The analysis is based on personal experiences elicited from individuals who have lost a limb or live with a paralyzed body part. Our study reveals that the ways in which these individuals express their pain experience is an integral aspect of that experience. The material consists of interviews undertaken with men who are living with phant...

The post-amputation (pain) syndrome, including stump pain, phantom limb sensation, and phantom limb pain is common but difficult to treat. Refractory stump pain in the syndrome is an extremely challenging and troublesome clinical condition. Patients respond poorly to drugs, nerve blocks, and other effective treatments like spinal cord stimulation and surgery. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) techniq...

OBJECTIVE To test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of self-delivered home-based mirror therapy for phantom pain. DESIGN Uncontrolled prospective treatment outcome pilot study. PARTICIPANTS Forty community-dwelling adults with unilateral amputation and phantom pain > 3 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale enrolled either during a one-time study visit (n = 30) or remotely (n = 10). METHOD...

OBJECTIVE To prospectively study factors associated with the occurrence of phantom sensations and pains in a pre-selected sample of child and adolescent amputees reporting phantom limbs. DESIGN Prospective diary study over 1 month. PARTICIPANTS Fourteen child and adolescent amputees from 10-18 years of age who were missing a limb due to trauma (n = 12) or congenital limb deficiency (n = 2),...