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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffPhantom pain is pain that feels like it's coming from a body part that's no longer there. Doctors once believed this post-amputation phenomenon was a psychological problem, but experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain.
While phantom pain occurs most often in people who've had an arm or leg removed, the disorder may also occur after surgeries to remove other body parts, such as the breast, penis, eye or tongue.
For some people, phantom pain gets better over time without treatment. For others, managing phantom pain can be challenging. You and your doctor can work together to treat phantom pain effectively with medication or other therapies.
- Pain: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chronic_pain/detail_chronic_pain.htm. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Dillingham TR, et al. Upper limb amputations. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:595.
- Mosaku KS, et al. Psychological reactions to amputation in a sample of Nigerian amputees. General Hospital Psychiatry. 2009;31:20.
- Ramachandra VS, et al. The use of visual feedback, in particular mirror visual feedback, in restoring brain function. Brain. 2009;132:1693.
- Radbruch L. Pain in cancer survivors. In: Walsh D, et al. Palliative Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/155581031-4/0/2038/259.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05674-8..50258-9--chapter1. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Jeffries GE. Post-amputation pain. Amputation Coalition of America. http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/mar_apr_98/pain_mgt/page1.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Chan BL, et al. Mirror therapy for phantom limb pain. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;357:2206.
- McNutt S. New paths in phantom limb pain treatment. Amputation Coalition of America. http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/mar_apr_07/phantom_treatment.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Bajwa ZH, et al. Cancer pain syndromes. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Acupuncture for pain. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/acupuncture-for-pain.htm. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Phantom pain: An update. Amuptee Coaltion. http://www.amputee-coalition.org/communicator/vol3no1pg3.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Fast facts on amputation/phantom limb pain. American Pain Foundation. http://www.painfoundation.org/learn/library/pain-conditions/amputation/fast-facts-amputation.html. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Giustozzi AA. Chronic pain management. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2009. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/155122192-13/876983605/1701/135.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04134-8..50006-9--cesec586_2770. Accessed Aug. 21, 2009.
- Martin DP (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 26, 2009.
