{"id":96,"date":"2006-10-03T13:31:42","date_gmt":"2006-10-03T13:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/wp_temp_dir\/?p=96"},"modified":"2023-11-28T15:43:19","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T15:43:19","slug":"amputee-massage-phantom-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.integrativehealthcare.org\/mt\/amputee-massage-phantom-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Bodywork Techniques for Phantom Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amputation of a body part is a devastating event that can follow surgery, infection, disease or trauma. Phantom pain adds even more insult to injury, by inflicting pain in a limb (or other body part) that no longer exists. Phantom pain is more common after the removal of an arm or a leg, but can also occur elsewhere, such as the breast or eye.<\/p>\n

Symptoms<\/h3>\n

Described as tingling, itching, twisting, pulsing, cramping, pins-and needles, stabbing pains, pressure, a sense of fullness and more, phantom pain is experienced by the majority of amputees. These sensations range from mild and infrequent to severe and chronic.<\/p>\n

Often the feelings of phantom pain are highly localized. An amputee may describe the sensation as being in a specific location, such as \u2018on the bottom of the little toe\u2019 or \u2018on the right side of the shin, right below the knee, going down in a straight line.\u2019<\/p>\n

New amputees tend to have frequent and intense sensations several times every day, often continuously for a few hours at a time. After an amputation, the sensations typically become less frequent, less intense, and bouts of pain last for a shorter amount of time. However, many amputees report that the phantom pain never completely disappears.<\/p>\n

Varying styles of bodywork can bring a great deal of relief to phantom pain, even more relief than western medicine\u2019s limited treatment options.<\/p>\n

Cause<\/h3>\n

Since the removal or loss of a limb can be so emotionally distressing, many people once presumed that phantom pain was a psychological problem. However, research has since demonstrated that phantom pain is a very real, physical phenomenon.<\/p>\n

While the exact cause of phantom pain is still unclear, experts agree that the cause is rooted in the neural circuitry, as generated from the spinal cord and brain. It is believed that when a body part is amputated, the brain region responsible for perceiving sensation in that area begins to function abnormally, leading to the perception that the body part still exists.<\/p>\n

Relief<\/h3>\n

While western medicine primarily offers an array of medications and surgical options to dull phantom pain, alternative medicine harbors many treasures for an amputee. A few are:<\/p>\n