Phantom Pain and its Management
Phantom pain is pain that feels like it's coming from a body part that's no longer there after amputation but their real sensations start from the spinal cord and brain.
Mostly this pain occurs in people who've had an arm or leg removed. It can also occur after surgeries to remove other body parts, such as the breast, penis, eye or tongue.May be described as shooting, stabbing, boring, squeezing, throbbing or burning
For some people, phantom pain gets better over time without treatment.But for some the management of this pain may become problematic and challenging. Apart from giving medications, the patient and the doctor can work together to get rid of phantom pain effectively with medication or other therapies.Lifestyle management techniques and home remedies can also be used.
The patient can reduce the discomfort and improve your quality of life by adopting one or more of these approaches:
- Look for distractions. Finding activities that take focus off the pain, such as reading or listening to music.
- One needs to stay physically active. Do exercises.Indulge in activities that you enjoy, such as gardening, walking, swimming or cycling.
- One needs to take proper medications as prescribed.Herbal and other alternative medications can also be tried but it has to be informed to doctor.
- Relaxation techniques should be learnt. Emotional and muscular tension needs to be reduced by practicing various techniques.
- Take a warm bath.
- Try rhythmic breathing, meditation or visualization.
- Seek the support of other people. Find ways to get closer to others. Try to call friends, or join a support group or a group involved in your favorite hobby.
The following measures may also help to reduce the pain
- Wrap your stump in a warm, soft fabric, such as a towel. The warmth will sometimes increase circulation. Poor circulation is thought to be one causes of phantom pain.
- Mentally exercise the limb that is not there in the area that is painful.
- Mentally relax the missing limb and your stump.
- Do some mild overall exercise to increase circulation.
- Exercise the stump.
- Tighten the muscles in the stump, then release them slowly.
- If you have your prosthesis, put it on and take a short walk.
- Put a shrink sock.
- If you have pain with the prosthesis on, take it and the prosthetic sock off and put it back on after a few minutes. Sometimes the stump is being pinched and changing the way it is on will relieve the pressure on that nerve.
- Change positions. If you are sitting, move around in your chair, or stand up so that blood circulates into your stump.
- A hot tub is reported to do wonders.
- Massage your stump with your hands or better yet have someone else massage it while you try to relax your entire body.
- Wrap stump in a heating pad.
