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Pain

Tutorial 229

Phantom Limb Pain

Dr Alison Kearsley, Speciality Registrar in Anaesthesia

Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, UK

Correspondence to a.kearsley@nhs.net

Dr Michael J.E. Neil, Consultant in Anaesthetics and Pain Medicine

Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK.

Correspondence to: mneil@nhs.net

27TH JUNE 2011

Abstract

Phantom limb sensation, stump pain and phantom limb pain often co-exist
Phantom limb pain occurs as result of a combination of peripheral, spinal and cortical changes.
Phantom limb pain is difficult to treat
Pharmacological therapies include tricyclic antidepressants, sodium channel blockers, anticonvulsants, NMDA antagonists and calcitonin.
Non-drug treatments such as mirror therapy, acupuncture, TENS, psychology and prosthetics are also important
Epidural anaesthesia may have a role in preventing phantom limb pain but further studies are required.

creative commons

This work by WFSA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/