Phantom Pain

Excerpts from the entry on Phantom Pain in Relieving Pain Naturally by Dr. Sylvia Goldfarb and Roberta W. Waddell. For full entries on all 37 conditions and 27 treatments, order the book.

Phantom pain is the pain or sensation felt in a body part that has been amputated—an arm or a leg, for example, or in a breast following a mastectomy. Studies and articles about phantom pain go back as far as the sixteenth century. It was not until the late nineteenth century, however, that it became a regular part of the medical literature, and only recently that it was considered a serious condition and not merely something that doctors considered "just in the heads" of their patients with amputated body parts.

Also in this entry:

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Diagnosing the Problem
• Conventional Treatments
• Self-Help Alternative Treatments
• Assisted Alternative Treatments

See below for full list of all conditions and treatments in the book. Or, download a complete Condition entry or Treatment entry for free.