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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:35 What is Phantom Pain
1:21 What are the causes of Phantom Pain?
2:04 What is the treatment for phantom pain?
2:48 Pharmacotherapy
3:33 Other treatment



Phantom pain is a perception that an individual experiences relating to a limb or an organ that is not physically part of the body, either because it was removed or was never there in the first place. However, phantom limb sensations can also occur following nerve avulsion or spinal cord injury.

Sensations are recorded most frequently following the amputation of an arm or a leg, but may also occur following the removal of a breast, tooth, or an internal organ. Phantom limb pain is the feeling of pain in an absent limb or a portion of a limb. The pain sensation varies from individual to individual.

Phantom limb sensation is any sensory phenomenon (except pain) which is felt at an absent limb or a portion of the limb. It has been known that at least 80% of amputees experience phantom sensations at some time of their lives. Some experience some level of this phantom pain and feeling in the missing limb for the rest of their lives.

The term "phantom limb" was first coined by American neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell in 1871.[1] Mitchell described that "thousands of spirit limbs were haunting as many good soldiers, every now and then tormenting them".[2] However, in 1551, French military surgeon Ambroise Paré recorded the first documentation of phantom limb pain when he reported that, "For the patients, long after the amputation is made, say that they still feel pain in the amputated part".[2]

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