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1 results

  • Chapter 25 - Phantom Limb Pain

  • from Part V - Extremities
  • Edited by Omar Viswanath, Creighton University, Omaha, Ivan Urits, Southcoast Brain & Spine Center, Wareham
  • Book:
    Cambridge Handbook of Pain Medicine
    Published online:
    01 December 2023
    Print publication:
    14 December 2023, pp 205-212

  • Summary

    Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a common source of distress and discomfort post-amputation. Up to 85% of amputees will experience PLP at some point and many cases become chronic pain conditions. While the pain has been well documented for decades, the exact pathophysiology is still unclear, and thus hindering a more accurate means of treatment. Patients with significant pain in the limb pre-amputation, lack of psychological counseling, and more proximal amputations in general seem to be more prone to pain; however, the presentation of PLP varies greatly from case to case. There are many noninvasive therapies, exercises, and medications that are recommended as first-line treatment, but the most effective and best-evidenced treatments involve electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves. Despite this lead on a promising treatment, the quality of evidence supporting or refuting any given modality is overall weak and requires much more homogenous study to truly be analyzed for efficacy.