ReviewPhantom-limb pain: characteristics, causes, and treatment
Section snippets
Clinical characteristics
Phantom-limb pain is commonly classified as neuropathic, and it is assumed to be related to damage of central or peripheral neurons. Although such pain is most common after the amputation of an arm or leg, it can also occur after the surgical removal of other body parts such as breast, rectum, penis, testicles, eye, tongue, or teeth. Lesions of the peripheral nerves or the central nervous system (eg, brachial-plexus avulsion or paraplegia) can also cause phantom-limb pain. It seems to be more
Aetiology of phantom-limb pain
Both peripheral and central factors have been discussed as determinants of phantom-limb pain. Psychological factors do not seem to contribute to the causation but may instead affect the course and the severity of the pain.5, 22 The general view now is that many changes along the neuraxis contribute to the experience of phantom-limb pain.
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