What phantom pain is

Phantom pain is a serious pain, the mechanism of which has still not been studied. The symptoms of the disease is difficult and treatment is often radical and lead even to amputation of limbs and bodies affected by this phenomenon.

The occurrence of phantom pain

Usually phantom pain occurs after amputation, but often the syndrome can develop when the removal of any organ. Sometimes phantom pain can occur after tooth extraction or mastectomy (removal of breast). Some practitioners use the term "phantom pain" in parts of the body that are completely generirovanie, but not amputated. Today, there are about 40 methods of treatment of the phenomenon, but none of them has shown its real effectiveness. Only 15% of all patients are cured from the syndrome.

Getting rid of phantom pain

The study of phantom pain covers problems in the functioning of the peripheral and Central nervous systems. Pain treatment previously carried out by the removal of nerves and operations on the spinal cord. However, this method proved to be inefficient and often led only to strengthening of pain. Today for the diagnosis and subsequent elimination of the causes of phantom pain applied method of recording somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), which is monitoring the activity of the nervous system and allows you to track the source of the process.

The treatment of phantom pain is difficult, but because most doctors just try to prevent their occurrence. To prevent the occurrence of the pathology by administration of anesthetics or morphine for 72 hours before the surgery of amputation.

During the treatment the doctors are trying to eliminate the factors that affect the development of phantom pain (depression, neuroma of stump). To get rid of pain also applies to the installation of prostheses, physiotherapy, which do not affect the recovery directly, but allow you to recover motor function that is required for rehabilitation. Controlling outbreaks is carried out by means of analgesics and analgesic drugs. Some doctors resort to electrical stimulation of the divisions of the spinal cord and brain.

Forecast

Phantom pain continues even after complete healing of tissue that has been damaged by amputation. Patients have areas, clicking on which the pain greatly intensifies. These sites can be located even on the opposite side of the body. Also sometimes there is spasmodic pain – it can escalate and fade on a long enough time.