Dealing with Amputee Phantom Pain
Whenever I meet another amputee, the subject
of phantom pain eventually comes up. It seems most amputees
have suffered through these pains in various forms and
intensity.
There is a lot of information available
regarding phantom limb pain online today. I have compiled a
list of some of the best resources here. If you know of any
other site you would like to see included here, please send it
to linkrequest@amputee.ca
There are also some beliefs and misbeliefs
about phantom pain, phantom sensation, and stump
pain. Phantom pain comes on strong with sharp, shooting
pains originating in the bottom of the residual limb and
experienced in the "missing" shin or knee or foot
area. The sensation for me is like an electric shock of pain
or a sharp stabbing feeling. The pain can come on fast or slow
and have a wide range of intensity. The pain may last a few
hours or a few days and longer
.Phantom sensation feels like tingling or
pins and needles in the stump end. It is very similar your
foot falling asleep and it feels sort of numb and tingly for
a minute or two. Except phantom sensation can go on for days.
I've had this feeling for up to five days in a row, resulting
in lack of sleep, edginess and ending up in a full blown
attack of pain.
Stump pain is like phantom pain, except most
of the pain is in the stump itself, primarily in the bone end.I have experienced these symptoms in varying
degrees over the course of thirty years as an amputee. The
pain now is not going away. It seems to be happening more
frequently lately. The bottom line is, pain is pain. Amputee
pain can be quite devastating, but pain relief and pain
management for the amputee is like that of any other person.
The primary concern is, what works?
For many years I dealt with the pain by
using prescription medicine in the form of nerve relaxers (tegretol)
and pain pills (Tylenol with codeine). These didn't help much
but the other effects of the medication would sometimes help
induce sleep. Sleep was the main objective. If I could relax
enough to sleep, hopefully the pain would be gone when I
awoke.The medication became a problem of its own.
Taking the combination of pills rendered me unable to drive or
do much else. Kind of like walking around in a stupor. Not
very effective medicine, but better than nothing.
Phantom pain can be dealt with in other, more
natural ways as well, and no single method or combination of
methods works for all amputees. It is highly recommended that you
view some of our phantom pain
links pages for alternate ways of dealing with the pain,
such as Farabloc,
massage, hot baths, ice and similar treatments.For years, I relied mostly on pills and
their side effects. Until I moved to British Columbia and
discovered Farabloc
while surfing the web one day around 1998 or so. The Farabloc
website claimed that their product, a fabric cloth enmeshed
with steel fibers, could block out the phantom pain. As any pain sufferer knows there are lots of
pain relief products out there, all claiming the same thing.
For me, I was tired of the feeling the medication gave me, and
I decided to try the Farabloc cloth. I ordered a custom fit
stump cover online and it arrived by mail a short time later.
The next time I felt the pain coming on, I
put the cover over my stump, and to my delight and amazement,
I felt the pain decrease almost immediately, accompanied by a
warm feeling. If the pain was my electric guitar amplifier
turned up to nine or ten, the Farabloc cloth turned it down to
about a two or three! I couldn't believe it. Finally, actual
pain relief without medication.I have relied on Farabloc's shielding
properties for about six years. For me, the important thing is
simply to halt the pain, just like any pain sufferer wants,
and Farabloc works for me. Simple as that.
Article by Larry Gardner - Owner
and Webmaster for www.amputee.ca . This article is under the copyright of Sky's the
Limit Web Marketing and may only be reprinted with
expressed written permission. Please send inquiries to larry@amputee.ca
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Farabloc is now the “Standard
of Care” for Phantom Limb Pain.
"I first encountered Farabloc
during a research study in 1990 ( University of
British Columbia, School of Rehabilitation ).
Together with Dr. Tali Conine, we examined the
efficacy of using Farabloc to manage phantom limb
pain in amputees. The study utilized a randomized,
double-blind, cross-over design to find in favour of
Farabloc.
Since 1997, I have been using pulsed magnetic fields
(Pulsed Signal Therapy) to treat osteoarthritis, chronic musculoskeletal pain
secondary to trauma
and work injury and chronic sports
injury(www.certifiedpst.com).
Pulsed Signal Therapy(PST) and Farabloc may have
something in common. PST involves the passage of low frequency magnetic
pulses through tissue. This promotes healing and tissue regeneration.
Farabloc has been shown to block high frequency
radiation from entering tissue. I think PST and Farabloc could be used in a
complementary fashion for the treatment of chronic soft tissue pain.
Cecil Hershler, MD, PhD, FRCP(C)
Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Director of the Vancouver PST Clinic
March 2006
What
is Farabloc?
"As an electrically conductive fabric it probably induces an electromagnetic field around the body (or the limb for a local wrap) similar to a Faradic cage, or a coil around a magnet.
When electrical energy is generated within the body (by muscle activity, spasm cramp, stiffness, nerve activity or chronic pain), this energy normally passes along the sensory nerves to the spinal cord and to the brain, indicating pain.
When wearing the Farabloc fabric, this energy can pass out of the body into the electromagnetic field of the blanket like an electrical ground or sink, thereby dissipating the energy which would otherwise travel up the sensory nerves as "pain."
Excerpt :( Dr. Twidale , Langley )
To find out more about Farabloc Limb Covers
for Amputees, please visit the Farabloc website at:
and
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