BACKGROUND After amputation of a limb, the majority of patients experience phantom sensations, such as phantom pain. Such patients provide an opportunity for the exploration of the perceptual correlates of recently discovered "mirror neurons," which fire not only when individuals move their own limb but when they watch the movements of the corresponding limb of another person. Similar neurons e...

BACKGROUND Phantom limb pain is a prevalent condition that is difficult to manage, with a lack of robust evidence to support the use of many adjunctive treatments. Acupuncture can be effective in the management of many painful conditions but little is known about its effectiveness in treating phantom limb pain. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of conducting a randomized contr...

Phantom limb pain appears where an amputated limb used to be and is often excruciating and almost impossible to treat. Recently, two experiments on hand amputees in the neuroscience area have shown that if a patient has the visual illusion of his phantom hand in a way that he is able to move it, the phantom pain can decrease. We propose a new augmented reality system aiming to experiment this i...

A systematic descriptive survey was carried out on a clinic population with acquired upper limb amputation in which clear distinctions were made between phantom experiences, pre-amputation pain and stump pain. It was found that of 76 participants 96% reported phantom experiences and 84% were currently experiencing phantom limb phenomena (PLP). Sixty-nine percent (69%) of those currently experie...

Inadequately controlled pain is a significant problem during limb salvage and is associated with poor outcomes. This pain has several causes, and many management options exist. Chronic pain associated with limb salvage causes unnecessary suffering and negatively affects long-term function. Chronic pain and disability in this population may be prevented with early, aggressive, comprehensive trea...

search director of the Pain Clinic at Montreal General Hospital. His work on the neurophysi-ology of pain spans almost four decades. After obtaining his Ph.D. in psychology at McGill in 1954 and taking up fellowships in the U.S. and abroad, he joined the faculty of the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959. There he and Patrick D. Wall began discussions that led to the publication in 1...

Most amputees experience phantom limbs, or the sensation that their amputated limb is still attached to the body. Phantom limbs can be perceived in the location previously occupied by the intact limb, or they can gradually retract inside the stump, a phenomenon referred to as "telescoping".  Telescoping is relevant from a clinical point of view, as it tends to be related to increased levels of ...