Physiology of the phantom limb — Science Information, Could 11, 1974
Almost all people who has had a leg or arm amputated typically experiences the feeling or feeling that they nonetheless have their lacking limbs. A few of them expertise ache of their “phantom limbs.” … One assumes that [cut nerves] often fireplace off impulses to the central nervous system and … create the feeling of a limb nonetheless being current…. [Scientists] have now confirmed that these occasions happen, no less than in experimental animals.
Replace
The reason for phantom limb ache is extra sophisticated than simply misfiring nerves. Submit-amputation modifications within the spinal wire and mind may additionally contribute, mounting proof suggests. Therapies comparable to ache relievers and utilizing visible suggestions from mirrors to trick the mind can provide some reduction (SN: 03/02/14). However researchers are nonetheless looking for more practical remedies. In 2019, scientists reported that electrically stimulating nerves close to amputation websites not solely helped two males detect strain and movement via a prosthetic leg, but additionally diminished their phantom ache (SN: 09/09/19).
