Pain after Amputation, Phantom Limb Pain

When a patient has a limb amputated the nerves are cut, the imprint of those electrical signals sent from those nerves are still fresh to the brain so sometimes the sensation of the limb is felt by the patient despite the absence of the limb. Studies have shown that chronic pain from the limb before the amputation leaves more of an imprint on the brain so those patients are more are at risk for this malady. For example many times amputation is a result of peripheral vascular disease, prior to actual amputation patients often have infections and ischemia that causes severe pain if this pain is not managed well these patients leave an imprint of severe pain on the portion of the brain that covers the limb, these patients have a higher risk for Phantom Pain.