Some patients suffer discomfort in the limb that no longer exists after an amputation. This is known as phantom limb pain.
Phantom limb pain ranges from mild to severe and can last seconds, hours, days, or longer. It may occur following a medical amputation. It can also occur after an unintentional amputation, such as losing a finger, toe, or other bodily part.
Phantom limb pain is the abnormal sensation perceived from a previously amputated limb. Patients may feel a variety of feelings emanating from the absent limb. The limb may feel completely intact despite its absence. The patients often described their pain as burning, squeezing, and cramping or as a prickling, shooting, or stabbing sensation. Residual limb pain is believed to come from injured nerves at the amputation site. Residual limb pain is often associated with phantom limb sensation and pain and may be related in etiology. Complex regional pain is a “chronic pain syndrome with severe pain, changes in the nails, bones, skin, and an increased sensitivity to touch in the affected limb.”
❤️ How does acupuncture help with phantom limb pain?
Conventional medicine has provided limited help in alleviating these types of pains. Acupuncture, on the other hand, is becoming a more popular treatment method for acute and chronic pain among nonmedical treatments such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, vibration therapy, biofeedback, hypnosis massage, physical therapy, and electroconvulsive therapy.
Scalp acupuncture has been proven to be the most effective technique for treating central nerve damage, including phantom limb pain, residual limb pain, complex regional limb pain, post-concussion syndrome, and post-traumatic stress syndrome, among acupuncture treatments such as body acupuncture, ear acupuncture, and hand acupuncture.
Scalp acupuncture is a modern technique combining the traditional needling method with Western medicine knowledge of representative areas of the cerebral cortex. Recent studies have shown that scalp acupuncture could be a very effective pain relief for various limb pains.
❤️ Although other acupuncture techniques can be effective, such as ear and body acupuncture, scalp acupuncture is a more effective model that brings out quicker, often immediate pain relief.
