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PHANTOM LIMB PAIN IS PAIN IN A LIMB THAT IS GONE
Phantom Limb Pain Is Pain Felt In A Body Part That Is Gone
It Has A Long History In Medicine
A French Military Surgeon Described It In The Sixteenth Century
Its Name Came Later From A Civil War Doctor
Even So It Is Still Poorly Understood And Difficult To Treat
The Pain Can Lead To Disability And A Lower Quality Of Life
THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.
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OKAY BACK FROM THE PAIN CLINIC 🩺
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A MAN IN PAIN AFTER AN AMPUTATION ⚡
A Hospital Pain Department In Changsha China Reported A Case
The Patient Was A 42 Year Old Man
His Right Upper Limb Had Been Amputated
After The Amputation He Had Persistent Radiating Pain
The Authors Described The Pain As Lightning Like
They Called His Condition Phantom Limb Pain
His Pain Was Scored On A Visual Analog Scale
That Scale Runs From No Pain To The Worst Pain Imaginable
Its Scores Range From 0 To 10
His Score Was 8 To 9
He Also Had Symptoms Of Depression
Doctors Treated Him With Spinal Cord Stimulation
Scans Of His Neck Taken Beforehand Showed A Loss Of Signal
It Was In His Right Nerve Roots From C6 To T1
An Electrode Was Then Placed Through His Skin During Surgery
The Goal Was For It To Cover The Whole Painful Region
Five Days After Surgery His Score Had Dropped To 2 To 3
A Year Later His Score Was 1 To 2
By Then His Depressive Symptoms Had Completely Resolved
He Had Also Stopped Taking Pain Medication
The Findings Come From A Single Patient
Whether The Treatment Helps Long Term Still Needs Confirmation
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THREE THINGS AMPUTEES CAN FEEL 🔍
A 2017 Paper Sorts Symptoms After Amputation Into Three Groups
They Are Stump Pain And Phantom Sensations And Phantom Limb Pain
A 2011 Review Defines The First Two
Stump Pain Is Pain In What Remains Of The Amputated Limb
Phantom Sensations Are Felt In The Amputated Limb Itself
They Are Not Painful
One Kind Is Touch Or Pressure Felt On The Amputated Limb
It Can Come From Objects Such As Clothing
The Third Group Is Phantom Limb Pain Itself
A 2020 Review Defines It As Pain Felt In The Amputated Limb
It Is Often Accompanied By Significant Suffering
A 2019 Review Lists The Qualities It Typically Has
They Include Throbbing And Shooting And Stabbing And Burning
Pins And Needles Is Another
Not Every Study Has Used Definitions As Clear As These
Most Studies In The 2020 Review Used An Ambiguous Definition
Their Participants Might Have Confused The Pain With Stump Pain
The 2011 Review Notes That The Two Pains Have Been Linked
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WHEN THE PAIN STARTS ⏳
Another Question Is When Phantom Limb Pain Starts
The 2019 Review Says It Is Usually Reported Within The First Week
That Is The Usual Pattern And Not A Rule For Every Patient
The 2017 Paper Says The Pain Typically Begins Within 6 Months
In That Paper Phantom Sensations Typically Begin Soon After Surgery
The 2011 Review Covers Phantom Pain And Sensation Together
Both May Begin Immediately After The Amputation
They May Also Begin Years Later
The Review Cites Reports Of Two Peak Periods For When They Begin
A Peak Is A Time When New Cases Are Most Common
The First Peak Is Within A Month Of The Amputation
Then A Second Peak Comes A Year After It
A Year Is Much Later Than The First Week In The 2019 Review
Of The Two Reviews Only The 2019 One Describes The Pain Alone
So These Three Sources Give No Single Start Time
None Of Them Presents Its Timing As Certain
Researchers Have Also Asked What The Pain Is Linked To
The 2020 Review Lists Factors Tied To It Starting And Continuing
They Include Stump Pain And Depression
An Amputation Caused By Diabetes Is Another
