Phantom Pain
If I am the phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved it is because your love redeems me ― Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera
image by: Chelsea Anderson
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How Phantom Limbs Explain Consciousness
During his disastrous naval assault on the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Lord Nelson lost hundreds of men, and was driven from the coast in defeat. He was also shot in the arm, and had to have part of it amputated. This being 1797, the amputation was done by knife without anesthetic. He seems to have been a good sport about the accident, especially since, in a sense, he never lost the arm. For the rest of his life he could sense it, as though the appendage were extending invisibly from the stump. He supposedly claimed that he now knew there had to be an afterlife because if his arm could have a ghost, then so could he.
Lord Nelson’s arm is a particularly famous example of a phantom…
Resources
Is phantom limb pain all in one’s head?
Phantom limb pain is thought to result from changes in brain organisation. Recent evidence challenges this view, leaving this mysterious phenomenon unsolved.
New Approach to Amputation Could Reduce Phantom Pain
Instead of sawing off a limb in a straight line, the new research and related work suggests surgeons should carefully dissect it to leave bits of muscle capping off the nerves.
Virtual Reality Could Help People With Phantom Pain
Phantom pain occurs when a person loses a limb, causing chronic pain in the remaining portion of the arm or leg. It can be difficult to adequately treat, but this recent research suggests that advances in technology could be a breakthrough.
Clearing the Brain of Phantom Pain
Vilayanur Ramachandran’s fascinating research on phantom limbs has been the basis for much of our knowledge in this area. Mirror therapy can re-program a brain's malfunctioning pain system.
Managing Phantom Pain
People are often reluctant to tell anyone that they are experiencing PLP or phantom limb sensations, for fear that they will be considered “crazy.” However, it is important to report these pains as soon as you begin to experience them so treatment can be started.
The Mirror Cure for Phantom Pain
Phantom limbs (an often painful sensation that an amputated limb is still part of the body) affect approximately 40 to 80 percent of all amputees. Lorimer Moseley, a researcher at Oxford, looks at a recent study that used mirrors to erase this phantom pain.
What is the best way to manage phantom limb pain?
No single best therapy for phantom limb pain (PLP) exists. Treatment requires a coordinated application of conservative, pharmacologic, and adjuvant therapies.
How Phantom Limbs Explain Consciousness
The reason for the phantom is both simple and profound. The brain constructs a model of the self that neuroscientists call the body schema.
5 Ways to Deal With Phantom Limb Pain After Amputation
The success of treatment for post-amputation pain depends on your level of pain and the various mechanisms playing a role in causing the pain.
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