Phantom pain

Most amputees report a sequela where they perceive painful sensations in the missing part of the amputated limbs1. This condition is known as phantom limb pain (PLP). While various hypotheses have been proposed to explain the etiology of PLP, it remains unclear1. In this essay, I will present the debate between two contrasting theories on the possible causes of PLP. One argues that PLP arises as a top-down phenomenon because of maladaptive cortical plasticity2, and conversely, the other indicates that PLP results from a bottom-up process through exaggerated input from damaged peripheral neurons3. To demonstrate the role of maladaptive sensorimotor cortical plasticity in the sensation of PLP, Yanagisawa and his colleagues utilized…

Over the past couple years many scientists have heard about this strange pain in a part of the body that no longer exists. It is called Phantom Limb Pain. Many amputees agree that this pain is too much. Phantom Limb Pain occurs in 80 percent of the people who have had a limb amputated. Some amputees may experience tingling, cramping, heat, and cold in that part that has been removed. The sensations that may have been experienced before the limb was removed may be experienced to the phantom limb.…

Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) is described as a sense of pain in a non-existent extremity. This means that one who is missing their limb may feel pain which is perceived to be originating from where the original arm was. Not all cases of PLP are the same because everyone processes limb loss differently and no single injury are the same. Phantom limb pain can occur in various parts of the body and is not limited to a particular type of treatment. Similar to other illnesses, sensation vary from case to…

There are approximately 2 million people living in the United States who have undergone an amputation, and of those 2 million, up to 60-90% suffer from phantom limb sensations or phantom limb pain. Interestingly, these sensations do not seem to always fade with time as a patient adjusts to the loss of a limb, but as many as 70% report phantom sensations several years after the loss of the limb (Hanley et al., 2009; Foell, Berkrater-Bodmann, Diers, & Flor, 2014; Preissler et al.,2012;…

Phantom limb pain (abbreviate to PLP) is a rare occurrence that most people will never experience. PLP is a sensation of pain that only amputees can comprehend. An individual with an amputated limb may experience sensations of throbbing and sometimes constant pain where the limb used to be, which now no longer exists. To a healthy individual this pain may seem fake or imaginary, but to an amputee who experiences PLP, the pain is very real. It is estimated that an astonishing 60-80% of amputees…

This article focuses on phantom pains. People with amputated limbs wonder if they are actually feeling something touch them or if it is just a figment of their imagination. In this article researchers gave their opinions on why this happens and they explained why it is possible. It talks about the primary somatosensory cortex, primary visual cortex, and the motor cortex function before and after the limb has been amputated. The researchers use an illusion called cutaneous rabbit illusion, which…

intoxicated. The main risks for this newly discovered procedure were hemorrhaging, shock, and sepsis (Ertl, Pritchett, Erlt, Brackett, 2014). Etiology of Phantom Pain Phantom pain is experienced by some amputees after having a part of the body removed. Doctors…

Phantom limb pain is defined as “pain perceived by the region of the body no longer present” (Subedi & Grossberg, 2011, p.1). This type of pain can be described as “shooting, severe burning, ischemic or crushing in nature or severe from…the limb being in a hyper-extended or unnatural position.” (Chapman, 2010, p. 35). Phantom limb sensation is the “nonpainful sensations experienced in the body part that no longer exist…phantom sensations are touch and pressure-like sensations.” (Subedi &…

highlights her neverending battle with her insecure state of mind; which affects every aspect of her life. Throughout my study of her poetry, I retained an immense admiration for her poetic abilities. Despite what seemed to be crippling bouts of depression, she produced poetry of startling originality and expertly calculated ideals. The intensity of her poems comes from the emotions she reveals through her poetry. Her personal nature of writing draws on the concept of the subconscious mind…

have an amputation each year and about 300 to 500 a day. Many people with amputated limbs have phantom pains. There are many questions about phantom pains such as what they are, who discovered them, what causes them, and how are they treated. Phantom pains are pains that come from body parts that have been amputated. Not everyone with an amputated limb will have phantom pains, but eight out of ten people do feel a pain in their limb that is no longer there. This means that about 2,058,000 people…