Phantom Limb Pain
Over the years scientists have noted many complaints of a strange form of pain called phantom limb pain. This pain is strange because it is located in an appendage that no longer exists. By many of the amputees the pain is described as totally unbearable. For the amputee population this is a very real problem that definitely needs to be solved. Pain and other sensation in an amputated or absent limb, are well-known phenomena. Nearly all amputees experience vivid phantom limb (PL) sensations, and up to two-thirds of these patients experience phantom pain even 25 years after the loss of the limb (cite). The vivid experience of a PL often includes non-painful phantom sensations as, which are frequently reported in patients with phantom pain (cite). Some amputees will not voluntarily mention phantom pain or sensations since they think that their mind is simply playing tricks on them. However, this pain actually means that the part of the brain, which has always felt that limb, is still reporting some sensations to the rest of the brain. What the thinking part of the brain knows (that the limb is gone) may be different from what the feeling part of the brain reports (that the nonexistent limb is being squeeze
ation of perception in the sensory cortex and become an important factor in avoiding pain. The lower limb, although artificial is still sensed as "being there." atively higher stump temperature than pain-free amputees. Furthermore, pain and temperature were modulated by the situation, because pain patients perceived more pain during those task evoking higher skin temperature, and vice versa. Second, psychological stressors, especially free-speech focusing on the amputation event, induced a strong cardiovascular response in pain amputees only. Another key point is the low reactivity of pain-free patients to the psychological stressor represented by public speech. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Their results were that all the amputees displayed brain activation in motor area 4 and premotor area 6. Also verified was the absence of contractions in the rectus-femoris when each amputee was asked to move the nonexistent foot. Despite an almost electromyographically silent thigh, the fact that the brain was being activated during the command for movement demonstrates that these signals surged due to the amputee's strong efforts resulting in alteration of the barin's oxygenated hemoglobin. This study strongly suggest that Brodmann's areas 4 and 6 continue to send orders to a limb that no longer exists. It can be affirmed that the phantom limb phenomenon is not a symptom related to a stump. The brain has not been damaged and its areas of command and perception are still intact and in use. Also, fitting a prosthesis immediately after amputation while the patient is still under anesthesia and then contiguisly beginning vibratory stimulus training may permit the preserv! Besides phantom pain, many amputees in their study also experience phantom sensations. The Kooijman study noted there was a prevalence of 76%. The most commonly reported phantom sensations were cold, electric sensations and movement of the phantom limb (cite). A significant association was found between the prevalence of h
Some common words found in the essay are:
Angrilli Koster, Jr Braga, Limb Pain, CM Kooijman, Sherman Sherman, phantom pain, phantom sensations, phantom limb, plp patients, experience phantom, medical treatment, artificial limb, pain amputees, limb pain, pain-free patients, phantom limb pain, phantom pain cite, phantom sensations kooijman, reactivity plp patients, experience phantom sensations,
Approximate Word count = 1385
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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