To better understand the phantom limb pain experience and patients’ familiarity with treatments, researchers conducted interviews with veterans with amputations at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Regional Amputation Center. Eighty percent of the participants reported phantom limb pain, and most reported trying common non-drug treatments, but no treatment was consistently endorsed as highly effective.
The 50-participant group had lower-limb amputations, was 96 percent men, had an average age of 66, and an average of 15 years since amputation. They completed phone-based interviews using the Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scales-Revised and pain experience using the Phantom Phenomena Questionnaire.
The investigators identified several themes from the interviews, including high variability in the experience of phantom limb pain, acceptance and resilience, and treatment perceptions. The study’s authors noted that because most participants in this study were men, the results may not be generalizable to women, and that more research is needed to inform identification and implementation of clinical best practices for non-drug interventions.
The open-access study, “Veteran perspectives on phantom limb pain and non-drug interventions,” was published in the Journal of Pain Research.
