[AMP-L] New Study Sheds Light on Phantom Limb Pain

[Wayne Renardson]

via IT News:

A University of Cape Town (UCT) doctoral study by Katleho Limakatso 
has broken new ground on pain management for amputees experiencing 
phantom limb pain.  

Limakatso completed his doctorate in only three years. And when he is 
capped on 22 July, he will become UCT´s first black PhD in 
Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine.  

Limakatso first came across phantom limb pain some years ago as an 
undergraduate student training at Victoria Hospital in Wynberg. He´d 
rushed to a patient who was experiencing unbearable pain in his left 
foot. But after finding that the patient´s left leg had been 
amputated, Katleho was left bewildered. How could he still feel pain 
where there was nothing  

Amputation is often a last resort for diabetics who experience long 
periods of debilitating pain, the result of poorly managed health. 
But amputees often still feel pain in a limb that is no longer there. 
The condition affects roughly seven in every 10 amputees, says 
Limakatso.  

He devoted his master´s study to investigating the efficacy of a new 
treatment for the condition. The treatment is called graded motor 
imagery. It uses a software application and a mirror to "retrain the 
brain", by activating the areas that once controlled the movements of 
the amputated limb.  

The rest of the story here:

https://tinyurl.com/26956r63

Wayne R.