What is Phantom Pain?

Phantom limb pain is when you feel pain in your missing body part after an amputation (aka limb loss).  Most commonly, it involves limbs that are no longer there. This is specifically known as phantom limb pain. However, phantom pain is a more general condition and does not necessarily need to include limbs.

Phantom pain can involve non-limb body parts that have been removed, like your:

• eyes
• teeth
• nose
• tongue
• breasts
• penis

It can even include parts of the intestinal tract.

Phantom pain happens after an amputation or injury.

It might seem like an illusion to feel pain in an area of your body that no longer exists. But, the pain is real. The person’s body is adjusting to the change.

How common is phantom limb pain?

Over half of people who lose a limb experience phantom pain.

What are the types of phantom pain?

Per Cleveland Clinic, there are different types of feelings or sensations you can have after an amputation. Not all sensations involve pain. Healthcare providers describe these sensations with the term “phantom,” relating to the missing limb (arm or leg) or removed part of your limb (like a finger or toe).

After an amputation, you might experience:

• Phantom pain: You feel pain in the missing limb after an amputation.
• Phantom sensations: The missing limb still feels like it’s part of your body. There isn’t any pain, but you feel sensations of touch, pressure, itch, temperature and vibrations. You may forget that part of a lower limb is missing and try to walk on both legs, for example.
• Phantom pain syndrome: You feel pain and other sensations like touch, pressure, itch, temperature and vibrations in an area of your body that experienced an amputation.
• Residual limb pain: This is pain that affects the remaining part of your limb (stump) that’s still on your body after an amputation. Residual limb pain often has a medical reason, such as infection or nerve damage.

What phantom pain feels like

The sensation of phantom pain can vary widely. Depending on the person, it might involve:

• throbbing
• tingling or pins and needles
• burning
• sharp pain, like shooting or stabbing
• cramping
• sensations that feel like electric shocks

Causes of phantom pain

The exact cause of phantom pain is unclear, but it’s thought to be related to:

Nerve damage

The removal of a body part causes damage to peripheral nerves. This can irritate and over excite the nerve endings, causing spontaneous sensations.

Central sensitization

Your peripheral nerves lead to your spinal nerves, which are connected to your spinal cord.

When a peripheral nerve is damaged during amputation or injury, central sensitization may occur. This involves increased neural activity and sensitivity in the spinal cord, resulting in phantom pain.

Brain remapping

After a body part is removed, the brain redirects sensations from that part to another area of the body. This is called remapping or reorganization.

As a result, you may feel pain in the missing body part when the nerves are stimulated in the surrounding area.

Psychological factors

In some cases, certain psychological conditions can trigger or contribute to phantom pain. These factors include:

• depression
• anxiety
• increased stress

Phantom limb pain ranges from mild to severe and can unfortunately last from anywhere between a couple seconds to several days or longer.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is a medication that has been used for decades as an anesthetic. In recent years, ketamine has been gaining popularity as an off-label treatment for severe and refractory mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. It has proven to be effective in managing chronic pain, especially neuropathic pain.

How does Ketamine help?

Ketamine infusion therapy works by interrupting the nerve signals that are causing the pain. When ketamine is introduced into the bloodstream, it binds to the receptors in the brain that are responsible for transmitting pain signals. By blocking these receptors, ketamine effectively “turns off” the pain signals, providing relief for amputees who suffer from phantom limb pain.

In addition to interrupting pain signals, ketamine also promotes neuroplasticity. This is the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new stimuli. By promoting neuroplasticity, ketamine helps the brain rewire itself and create new neural pathways that can bypass the damaged nerve endings that are causing the pain.

The result is prolonged pain relief and improved quality for people diagnosed with severe neuropathic pain. According to clinical trials, ketamine therapy can provide pain relief for up to 3 months at a time.

In Conclusion

Chronic pain can be incredibly debilitating, making it difficult to live your life normally and do the things you enjoy. If you suffer from phantom limb pain, you know how frustrating it can be to find lasting relief. Luckily, ketamine infusion therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for all sorts of chronic pain conditions, including phantom limb pain.

Ketamine works by blocking pain signals in the brain. This can provide significant relief from chronic pain, allowing you to lead a healthy and productive life. If you have been struggling to find relief from your phantom limb pain, ketamine infusion therapy may be the answer you’ve been looking for.

References:

https://baltimoreketamineclinic.com/ketamine-infusion-therapy-for-phantom-limb-pain/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12092-phantom-limb-pain