These pains are neuropathic. They are part of the deafferentation group, that is, unpleasant sensations arise due to pathological sensory processes in the central nervous system.
Phantom pain can occur after amputationany extremities, or removal of any organ. They can appear right after the operation or after some time. Phantom pains cause severe discomfort. In some cases, they become a serious problem, which is not so easy to solve. Painful sensations, as a rule, begin unexpectedly and strongly, but in due course weaken. Approximately half of the patients remain for life.
Pain, which appeared before amputation, caneasily turn into a phantom. Often phantom pains persecute the elderly, often they arise in those people who have lost limbs not on the operating table, but as a result of some accident, especially if everything happened abruptly and unexpectedly. Also note that they can develop against a background of any mental disorders.
Phantom pains are nothing more than one of thevarieties of phantom sensations. Such sensations can be pressing, temperature and so on. Often after amputation, kinesthetic sensations also arise, that is, a person feels that his amputated limb is still in its place. He even feels its volume and position. Often these feelings are distorted. For example, it seems to a person that the arm (amputated) is shorter than normal. All this is most clearly manifested after the operation, and eventually weakens.
Pain in the cult
From phantom pains they differ in thatare caused by neuromas at the end of the cut nerve. Basically, patients complain that in the cult something pulsates, crushes, stings and so on. Sometimes it seems to them that something is beating them with electricity. These pains are less common than phantom. They pass in a few months after amputation.
Phantom pains: treatment
Getting rid of them is not so easy. In the postoperative period, as a rule, doctors prescribe morphine or local anesthetics to eliminate them.
In the event that phantom pains do not disappear, doctorsprescribe analgesics. Treatment is quite effective. In simple cases, the result will be noticeable very soon. In more complex they have to take a long period of time.
Sometimes the treatment of pain occurs by blockadesympathetic nerves. Sometimes it is effective, but in some cases there is only a temporary improvement. Also, blockade of nerves can only weaken phantom pain. Yes, the probability of getting rid of this disease is small, but many doctors still resort to this method, as they know that there is a chance to save a person from trouble without taking long-term medications that have many side effects.
Surgical or chemical eliminationproximal somatosensory pathways is another way to eliminate phantom pain. It is more risky than blocking the nerves, but the effect in some cases is not bad. The bottom line is that chemistry can worsen the general condition of the body. Of course, surgical intervention is not welcome.
Neurostimulation refers to the safestmethods of eliminating phantom pain. Today, doctors know many ways how to save a person from phantom pains, affecting the back columns of his spinal cord. The method has proven itself for a long time. Its effectiveness is stated by leading experts of the world. He is not conservative. For the most part, they resort to it when everything else is ineffective.
For treatment often resort to psychotherapy. In this case, the patient should only be engaged in a professional psychologist - an amateur can only worsen the situation.
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