Phantom limb pain and residual pain are common effects that people who have gotten amputations face in their daily life (University of Michigan). These types of pain come in many different forms and sensations, and can be hard to treat (University of Michigan). The pain that these people experience can make day to day life quite challenging (University of Michigan).
The formation of terminal neuromas near amputation sites is the cause of residual limb pain, while phantom limb pain is the result of nerve reorganization, also involving a neuroma (Dumanian). Although treatment is available for those struggling with residual and phantom limb pain, there was not a definitive answer of which treatment plan is more effective for these individuals (Dumanian). In "Targeted Muscle Reinnervation Treats Neuroma and Phantom Pain in Major Limb Amputees" by Dr. Gregory Dumanian et. al, researchers compared the effectiveness of using Targeted Muscle Reinnervation to other treatment methods.
The question of which treatment plan is more effective was tested on 28 individuals, who randomly got placed in a condition to receive targeted muscle reinnervation and a condition to receive standard treatment (Dumanian). The results showed that targeted muscle reinnervation helped relieve residual limb pain and phantom limb pain more than other treatment methods did (Dumanian).
A new potential method of treating phantom limb pain and residual pain is a neural stimulation system that will start being used in a clinical trial soon. The idea is that someone wearing a prosthetic and this new system at the same time will feel that the prosthetic is actually the real limb (NIH-Heal). The reason why this device should be able to help those suffering from pain after an amputation is because the stimulation provided can make the brain think that the signals the nerves are receiving are normal (NIH-Heal). This device is from a company called Ripple.
In my opinion, it is very interesting to read about these types of treatment and see how different technologies and ideas can help relieve the same condition. Similar to how Dr. Dumanian compared TMR to typical treatment for phantom limb pain, I think it is important to keep doing studies comparing different methods of treatment in order to find the best method, especially as new ideas and methods are innovated.
Prescriptions are also an option for treating phantom pain, and opioids are prescribed for some patients. However, opioid prescriptions can be a controversial subject as many develop addiction after usage. In 2017, 1.7 million Americans faced addiction after being prescribed certain medications (NIH-Drug Abuse). With addiction to these drugs being common today, I think it is very important to find methods of treatment for any types of pain that can be more effective than drugs.
Both Dr. Dumanian's research in comparing TMR to other treatments and Ripple's new technology that will hopefully help amputees were very interesting to learn, and I think that this is a very important field, not only to help individuals stop suffering from phantom and residual limb pain, but to create new methods that allow them to safely stop suffering without putting them at risk for addiction.
Sources:
(1) “Phantom Limb Pain and Chronic Pain.” Phantom Limb Pain and Chronic Pain | Michigan Medicine. Accessed December 12, 2021. https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ty6877.
(2) Dumanian, Gregory A., Benjamin K. Potter, Lauren M. Mioton, Jason H. Ko, Jennifer E. Cheesborough, Jason M. Souza, William J. Ertl, et al. “Targeted Muscle Reinnervation Treats Neuroma and Phantom Pain in Major Limb Amputees.” Annals of Surgery 270, no. 2 (2019): 238–46. https://doi.org/10.1097/sla.0000000000003088.
(3) “Next-Gen Device Could Relieve Phantom Limb Pain.” National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed December 12, 2021. https://heal.nih.gov/news/stories/phantom-limb-pain.
(4) National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioid Overdose Crisis.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, July 1, 2021. https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis.
No comments:
Post a Comment