Are there alternative treatments for phantom limb pain after an amputation?

Honor Society of Nursing (STTI)

There are many alternative treatments that a patient can try at home to help relieve phantom limb pain. Relaxation, acupuncture, and meditation can help relieve pain and tension. Staying active, exercising, and getting enough sleep can help. It can be important to take care of both the stump and the prosthesis (artificial limb), and to make sure the prosthesis fits well. Finally, many people benefit from joining support groups.

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Pain

Pain is your body telling you that you have hurt it. This is a good thing, important when you are injured. It can also help diagnose problems with your body. Sometimes pain continues long after it's necessary. Amputees report phantom pain in the legs or arms they no longer have. There are different kinds of pain, and describing the type is useful in diagnosis: recurring, constant, steady, knife-like, radiating, sharp, dull. Medicines that dull pain are analgesics. Those that kill all feeling are anesthetics.

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