Phantom Limbs: A Neurobiological Explanation Essay

“Losing a leg was like having to learn how to suck in air through the pores of my skin. Somehow I survived, but each breath was painful” (Draanen 157). Jessica, from Wendelin Van Draanen’s The Running Dream, loved to run. Which is why when she lost her leg she described it as stated above, like learning how to take in air through her skin. Her leg was a part of her, something she loved to use, and when it was gone she felt off balance, both metaphorically and actually. I felt this way when someone very close to me died. His name was Zackary, or Zack for short, and he was my cat. When he died of a thickened heart wall and a thrombus collapse at the age of 1 and a half, I felt as if I had lost something vital to me. A body part that was necessary

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. Phantom limb pain has even driven some victims crazy. For the amputee population this is a very real problem that definitely needs to be solved.

Kathy, a 20-year-old woman, awakens one morning to a tingling, numb sensation covering both of her feet. This has happened to her a number of times throughout the year. In the past, when experiencing this sensation, within a couple of days to a week the numbness would subside, and so she is not too concerned. About a week later, she

The phantom limb pain the woman is experiencing is described as a painful condition of the amputated limb after the stump has completely healed. It is a chronic pain that occurs in more than 80% of amputees especially those who suffered pain in the limb before the amputation. Theories suggest that phantom limb pain results from redevelopment or hyperactivity of cut peripheral nerves, scar tissue or neuroma formation in the cut peripheral nerves, spinal cord deafferentation, and alterations in the thalamus and cortex. More so, the CNS integration, which involves reorganization and plastic modifications of the somatosensory cortex, effects the receptors in perceiving the pain of the amputated limb despite of the limb itself being absent. In addition,

What does it feel like to have a missing/paralyzed limb? I'm sure this question has popped into many of our heads at one point in time. You would think that the sensations and feelings from that limb would disappear altogether. However, for some people, they can still feel the presence of their limb even after it is gone. There is no clear answer as to why this happens, but one thing is for certain. A large percentage of people with phantom limbs will sometimes feel pain from that missing limb. There is nothing happening to the individual physically that would cause them to feel pain from their phantom limb. What is actually happening is that the nerves that are located at the area of amputation (the "stump") are sending signals to the brain, which tricks the brain into believing that the missing limb is still there. It is hypothesized that the brain may also interpret these signals as pain. I found this to be an interesting topic, as it gives a good example as to how our brains and nervous systems work when interpreting changes in the body.

Over time, doctors have seen countless patients that have complained of a strange form of pain sensation called phantom limb pain. The pain that patients are describing is occurring in appendages that are no longer part of their bodies. Many of these amputees have described this pain as utterly unbearable. For the amputee population, this is a very real problem that needs to be solved. Pain that is occurring in phantom limbs is very common in amputees. Mostly all amputees experience the sensation of phantom limb pain. Two-thirds of patients experience phantom limb pain, even 25 years after the loss of the limb. (Woodhouse) The vivid experience of a phantom limb often includes non-painful phantom sensations as which frequently reported in patients with phantom pain (Woodhouse).

There have been investigations into phantom limb pain and Jensen found that about seventy two percent of reported feeling pain eight days after they had an amputation, not only that but he also found that six months after the amputation sixty eight percent of amputees reported pain that never went away in relation to their amputated body part (Katz). There are many theories as to why people who have had to have procedures to amputate a body part in order to relive them from the pain still experience that same pain they did before the body part was amputated. Two reasons that have been discussed as to why these people still feel pain are due to central factor and peripheral

When a person loses a limb, it is never a clean cut; whether it be the remnants of gore from the cut, the trauma of the loss, or the non-physical remnant of the limb itself, known as Phantom Limb Syndrome. Despite effecting 80% of all amputees, the sensation itself continues to mystify neuroscientists and is not yet fully understood. The most popularized type of phantom are the painful ones, seeing as it affects 50-80% of amputees regardless of whether their amputation was traumatic or done in a hospital for their health, but phantom limbs are not all painful and can come in many shapes, sizes, and types of sensations. (873)

Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) is a serious condition that occurs when a person who has lost a part of their body though amputation, trauma (brachial plexus), or loss of nervous connections in an appendage, perceives that the limb is still there and experiences sensations coming from this area. It was first described in 1866 by S. Weir Mitchell, an American neurologist, through a short story published in Atlantic Monthly. While Mitchell may then have wondered if this was specific to wounded Civil War soldiers, it has since been established as quite common (1). Over 70% of amputees report phantom limb pain for years after amputation (2). Several theories have been proposed regarding PLP, although there is still much to be

The earliest hypothesis regarding the cause of phantom limbs and pain was that of neuromas. These were thought to be nodules comprised of remaining nerves located at the end of the stump. These neuromas presumably continued to generate impulses that traveled up the spinal cord to portions of the thalamus and somatosensory domains of the cortex. As a result, treatment involved cutting the nerves just above the neuroma in an attempt to interrupt signaling at each somatosensory level (5). This and other related theories were deemed unsatisfactory because of the fact the phantom pain always returned, indicating that there was a more complex reason.

Modern prosthetic limbs have become very advanced in the last decade. They now have the ability to grip objects, have running limbs, and many more wonderful things. Although these prosthetics are great, they are lacking some key extras that amputees would relish. What amputees really want is their sense of feeling back. They want to reach out with their prosthetic limb and be able to tell if the stove is on or off. They want to be able to press the gas of an automobile. This sense, that all non-amputees take for granted, would be a great place to start the improvement of the perfect prosthetic limb. To accomplish such a daunting task, engineers must figure out an alternative source that could interact with the amputees still intact nerve endings. This way they can use their still functioning nerves to communicate with their pseudo-nerve and have the ability to move their prosthesis around with complete control of it and its sense of touch. I believe this has not

Sacks discussed the ideas behind the phantom limb and how they affected many peoples live. The most interesting story was about a sailor that accidentally cut off his index finger. For forty years he thought he would poke himself in the eye whenever he moved his hand to his face. One day he lost the feeling in his entire hand including his phantom finger and his problem was cured (Sacks 66-67). Up to 70 percent of amputees confirmed that they still feel or still thought a missing limb was there. They often feel that they can reach out and grab something. Some won't sleep in a certain way because they feel the missing limb between them and the mattress. The sensations felt stem from the activity of the sensory axons

An extensive matrix of neurons in the brain gives us the sense of our own bodies and body parts. Pain results when this matrix produces an abnormal pattern of activity, as a result of memories, emotions, expectations or signals from various brain centres and not just from signals from peripheral nerves. Because of the lack of sensory stimulation or a person’s efforts to move a nonexistent limb, abnormal patterns may arise, resulting in phantom pain.

Take a second, and imagine your life as a teenager, fresh out of college with, aspiring to get a degree in whatever your heart desires. You’ve got lots of ambition and potential. The world is at your fingertips; you can do anything you set your mind to. But one day, tragedy strikes and the unthinkable happens: you lose a limb. Why is not important, but what the future entails is. Let’s say this limb is your right arm, the one you have used all your life to write, eat, type and play the guitar. Now let’s change the scenario a little bit. Instead you’ve lost your legs in a horrific car accident where both were crushed under the weight of the dashboard as your car collided with the 4x4 in front of you. You wake up the next day in the hospital groggy, barely remembering what happened. Shock is the only thing running through your mind the moment you look down to see your legs missing. Your brain thinks they’re still there because yesterday you were just getting out of bed for your morning jog. All that remains are the stubs where your legs used to be and the unbearable thought of being confined to a motorized chair for the rest of your life.

Phantom limb pain is a painful sensation experienced in a body part which is no longer part of the body, often due to amputation.(3) Individuals also reported that tingling as well as various types of pain have occurred, and these sensations may eventually disappear or may persist as cramping, shooting, burning or crushing