The effects of sensory input and concentration on post-amputation phantom limb pain

Psychophysiological Contributions to Phantom Limbs

“…Six months later, there is a noticeable shrinking in the size of the silent zone so that the outer rim becomes responsive to new input from adjacent digits. This finding parallels reports that over a period of several months after amputation, the phantom hand or foot is perceived to shrink in size as it approaches the stump (20,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28).…”

“…This occurs gradually in both upper and lower limbs (23)(24)(25), although the amount of shrinking is variable. Adult amputees have likened the size of their phantom hand or foot to that of a baby's (26), a silver dollar (27) and even a postage stamp (28).…”

“…There are many examples of psychological or emotional processes precipitating transient but profound alterations in the quality and intensity of phantom limb sensations, including hypnosis (101), concentration (28,49), distraction (75), relaxation (98,99), fright (23), forceful reminders of the events that led to the amputation (102), the sight of other amputees (102), and witnessing cruel or violent acts (80,103). One amputee, interviewed by the author (J.K.), described his reaction to an accident involving his wife as "goose bumps and cold shivering down the phantom [leg].…”

Prism adaptation to optical deviation alleviates pathologic pain

“…On the contrary, a previous pathologic pain study reported analgesic effects when various types of sensory stimuli and a task were used to distract attention from the pain. 18 Taking account of these notions about spatial attention, prism adaptation might re-balance the distribution of spatial attention which had been exclusively focused on the affected site, thus alleviating pathologic pain. Although conventional treatments were applied simultaneously with the prism adaptation, it is unlikely that they contributed to the analgesic effect because these treatments remained constant throughout the study.…”

Auslösung von Phantomschmerzen und -sensationen durch muskuläre Stumpftriggerpunkte nach Beinamputationen

“…Ein Zusammenhang von Stumpfpathologie und erhöhtem Phantomschmerz [44,45] sowie eine Koinzidenz von Stumpf-und Phantomschmerz [50] sind bekannt, ein offensichtlicher (!) Stumpfbefund jedoch nicht Voraussetzung für Phantomschmerzen [26,52].…”