Phantom Pain

Amputee Support &
Outreach of Northern Colorado

Helping Amputees and their families live full lives

Phantom Pain

Something like 90% of amputees experience some kind of phantom sensation, from an itching in their missing limb to pain that requires medication. The medical profession finally started taking this phenomena seriously during the Civil War, when so many patients reported phantom pain to so many doctors that they had to take it seriously. It has only been in recent years that medical science has finally begun to understand how and why this happens. New treatments are being developed all the time. Here are a few places you can look to learn more.
PubMed.com

Pain Information from ACA o Fact Sheet - Pain Management for the Amputee by Partners Against Pain http://www.amputee-coalition.org/fact_sheets/painmgmt2003.pdf o Life Without Pain Can Really Hurt You by Doug Smith. inMotion volume 12 issue 2, March / April 2002 http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/mar_apr_02/meddir.pdf o Capturing the Phantom by Christina DiMartino. inMotion, volume 10 issue 5, September / October 2000 http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/sep_oct_00/phantom.html o The Phantom Menace Part I by Doug Smith. inMotion, volume 12 issue 4, July / August 2002 http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/jul_aug_02/pain.pdf o The Phantom Menace Part II by Doug Smith. inMotion, volume 12 issue 5, Sept / October 2002 http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/sep_oct_02/phantom.pdf o The Phantom Menace Part III by Doug Smith inMotion, volume 12 issue 6, November / December 2002 http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/nov_dec_02/phantl.pdf o Prevention: The Next Chapter on Phantom Limb Pain by Thom Bloomquist. inMotion, volume 11 issue 6, November / December 2001 http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/nov_dec_01/prevention.pdf o American Academy of Pain Management - State Listing - www.aapainmanage.org o The American Pain Foundation - www.painfoundation.org o The National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain - www.paincare.org o Pain.com - www.pain.com o Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of Phantom Pain - www.usinter.net/wasa/contents1d.html o Acupuncture in the Treatment of Phantom Pain - www.usinter.net/wasa/contents1b.html o Medication and Chronic Pain - American Chronic Pain Association http://www.theacpa.org/ o Sheldrake Online - Phantom Limbs - www.sheldrake.org/experiments/phantom/

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