Phantom Limb Pain: When a Body Part Removed After Amputation Feels Painful

(Photo : Pexels / Lara Jameson)

Phantom limb pain refers to feeling pain in a missing limb post-amputation.

Phantom Limb Pain Explained

Though it may seem unusual to feel pain in a body part that no longer exists, phantom limb pain is actually real, with levels possibly ranging from mild to severe. It can go on for seconds, hours, days, or more.

There are various sensations and feelings that one may experience post-amputation. Not all of these involve pain. Such sensations are described as "phantom," being linked to a missing limb, such as a leg or arm, or removed limb part, such as a toe or finger.

Following an amputation, one may feel phantom pain in the actual missing limb. One may also experience phantom sensations, wherein the missing limb could still feel like an existing body part. While there is no pain, one may feel pressure, touch, temperature, itch, and vibrations.

It is also possible for a person to experience phantom pain syndromes, which involves feeling pain alongside other sensations, such as itch, touch, and pressure. One may also feel residual limb pain, which affects the remaining limb part (the stump) that remains in the body post-amputation. There is typically a medical reason, such as nerve damage or infection, for residual limb pain.

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How Phantom Limb Pain Feels Like

Phantom pain could lead to these strong sensations in a body area where a limb is no longer present. It could yield feelings of burning, aching, itching, numbness, stabbing, tingling, pitching, throbbing, temperature changes, and twisting.

One may feel that their missing limb is in an odd position, still attached, shrinking, or moving around.

Several people reportedly feel phantom pain during the first six months post-amputation. The frequency and intensity of the pain may decrease after this period, though studies show that most people still experience such pain two years post-amputation.

The pain could begin or worsen if one experiences stress, fatigue, anxiety, an infection, depression, swelling or pressure on the stump, or issues with blood flow.

The exact cause of the phantom pain still remains a mystery. Several think that it could be a nervous system miscommunication. Since the peripheral nerves relay signals to the brain and spinal cords and tell the body to move, these nerve connections may still exist in the body following the amputation. This could happen, though the nerves within the amputated limb are no longer there.

Amputation also leads to trauma, as the brain needs to learn how to adapt to such changes.At times, the nerves could get angry as a response to change or trauma. They could end up sending more signals than usual or even mix up such signals. The brain may misinterpret the signals, which boosts sensitivity and triggers pain.

It is possible for anyone who has undergone an amputation to experience phantom pain. The condition is more common among amputations of the upper extremities, such as fingers and arms, though it may also affect any body part. Those who regularly wear prosthetics may feel that the pain is worse when they don't wear such devices.

Phantom limb pain treatment may include mirror therapy, medications, TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), neurostimulation, spinal cord stimulation, and stump revision surgery. Other complementary therapies, such as biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), could also help.