The Phantom limb syndrome is a condition in which the person has had a body part amputated or removed but the sensation of having that arm or leg feels as if that body part is still there. They often experience pain which could worsen when the person is stressed due to this condition. Some of the pains that people who experience this say that it feels like a stabbing, piercing, or burning pain where that body part was located. They still have the feeling that the limb is attached to their body, but when in reality that body part is no longer there. This is caused because the brain continues to receive signals from the nerves that originally carried impulses from the missing limb. The exact cause of the phantom limb syndrome is unknown but some studies say that the sensations are there because the brain is attempting to reorganize sensory information after the amputation of the body part. The brain is trying to adjust itself to the changes that have occurred to the body part. It is very important to tell the doctor if they experience any pain or other sensations since early treatment can improve the chances of success. There is no actual test to diagnose someone to say they experience phantom pain. All the doctors could do is ask if they have been experiencing any pain or other sensations in the body part that has been amputated. They could also recommend the person some medication to try an ease the pain but as you already know the medication would only work for some time. There are also other methods that doctors could use in some cases which is called electrical nerve stimulation. There are different forms of this treatment that they could conduct, one being transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) were a tiny electric current is sent through the skin to points on the nerve pathway. Another being Transcranial magnetic stimulation were a strong magnetic pulse is sent though the scalp into the brain. There is also another technique being used which is called the mirror box therapy were the patient with the amputated limb places a mirror between there body where they can see one body part and with reflection being the amputated limb so in their brain they could see that they have that limb and more it around and send signal to the brain that it is moving and this treatment could also ease some of that pain which is caused by the phantom limb syndrome. Phantom limb videoFriday, February 28, 2014
The Phantom Limb
Phantom Limb Syndrome
The Phantom limb syndrome is a condition in which the person has had a body part amputated or removed but the sensation of having that arm or leg feels as if that body part is still there. They often experience pain which could worsen when the person is stressed due to this condition. Some of the pains that people who experience this say that it feels like a stabbing, piercing, or burning pain where that body part was located. They still have the feeling that the limb is attached to their body, but when in reality that body part is no longer there. This is caused because the brain continues to receive signals from the nerves that originally carried impulses from the missing limb. The exact cause of the phantom limb syndrome is unknown but some studies say that the sensations are there because the brain is attempting to reorganize sensory information after the amputation of the body part. The brain is trying to adjust itself to the changes that have occurred to the body part. It is very important to tell the doctor if they experience any pain or other sensations since early treatment can improve the chances of success. There is no actual test to diagnose someone to say they experience phantom pain. All the doctors could do is ask if they have been experiencing any pain or other sensations in the body part that has been amputated. They could also recommend the person some medication to try an ease the pain but as you already know the medication would only work for some time. There are also other methods that doctors could use in some cases which is called electrical nerve stimulation. There are different forms of this treatment that they could conduct, one being transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) were a tiny electric current is sent through the skin to points on the nerve pathway. Another being Transcranial magnetic stimulation were a strong magnetic pulse is sent though the scalp into the brain. There is also another technique being used which is called the mirror box therapy were the patient with the amputated limb places a mirror between there body where they can see one body part and with reflection being the amputated limb so in their brain they could see that they have that limb and more it around and send signal to the brain that it is moving and this treatment could also ease some of that pain which is caused by the phantom limb syndrome. Phantom limb video
The Phantom limb syndrome is a condition in which the person has had a body part amputated or removed but the sensation of having that arm or leg feels as if that body part is still there. They often experience pain which could worsen when the person is stressed due to this condition. Some of the pains that people who experience this say that it feels like a stabbing, piercing, or burning pain where that body part was located. They still have the feeling that the limb is attached to their body, but when in reality that body part is no longer there. This is caused because the brain continues to receive signals from the nerves that originally carried impulses from the missing limb. The exact cause of the phantom limb syndrome is unknown but some studies say that the sensations are there because the brain is attempting to reorganize sensory information after the amputation of the body part. The brain is trying to adjust itself to the changes that have occurred to the body part. It is very important to tell the doctor if they experience any pain or other sensations since early treatment can improve the chances of success. There is no actual test to diagnose someone to say they experience phantom pain. All the doctors could do is ask if they have been experiencing any pain or other sensations in the body part that has been amputated. They could also recommend the person some medication to try an ease the pain but as you already know the medication would only work for some time. There are also other methods that doctors could use in some cases which is called electrical nerve stimulation. There are different forms of this treatment that they could conduct, one being transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) were a tiny electric current is sent through the skin to points on the nerve pathway. Another being Transcranial magnetic stimulation were a strong magnetic pulse is sent though the scalp into the brain. There is also another technique being used which is called the mirror box therapy were the patient with the amputated limb places a mirror between there body where they can see one body part and with reflection being the amputated limb so in their brain they could see that they have that limb and more it around and send signal to the brain that it is moving and this treatment could also ease some of that pain which is caused by the phantom limb syndrome. Phantom limb video
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Its interesting how doctors and specialists have come up with all this techniques to try and confuse and make your brain think that the part of the body that was amputated its still there by stimulating other parts of the body. I like how you mention that medication might help get rid of that pain or the feeling that your body part is not there anymore, but this will just be momentary since the body will get used to it.
ReplyDeletePhantom limb seems like something taken out of a science fiction movie. At least for me it is almost unreal to understand how you can feel pain in an area of your body that is no longer there. Of course like you explained it is possible because the area of your brain responsible for pain in that area is still present. Experiencing phantom limb pain sounds like a tough situation since doctors are unable to do much to fix the problem.
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