Effectiveness of phantom exercises for phantom limb pain: a pilot study.

Authors

  • Özlem Güven Ülger
  • Semra Topuz
  • Kezban Yigiter Bayramlar
  • Gül Şener
  • Fatih Erbahçeci

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-0380

Keywords:

phantom limb, exercise, amputees.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of phantom limb exercises on phantom limb pain. METHODS: A total of 20 traumatic amputees participated in the study. Ten received phantom exercises and prosthetic training, and 10 were treated with routine prosthetic training and a general exercise programme. Intensity of pain was evaluated using a 10-cm visual analogue scale before therapy and after 4 weeks of therapy. RESULTS: Baseline scores on the visual analogue scale were similar between the groups. Pain intensity decreased in all subjects after 4 weeks of treatment in both groups. According to the visual analogue scale scores at the end of 4 weeks, the phantom exercises group differed significantly from the general exercise group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Phantom exercises appear to be effective in reducing phantom pain, but further research is required to confirm this.The results of this study indicate that phantom exercises can be used safely to alleviate phantom limb pain in lower and upper limb amputees.

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Published

2009-05-12

How to Cite

Ülger, Özlem G., Topuz, S., Bayramlar, K. Y., Şener, G., & Erbahçeci, F. (2009). Effectiveness of phantom exercises for phantom limb pain: a pilot study. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 41(7), 582–584. https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-0380

Issue

Vol. 41 No. 7 (2009)

Section

Short Communication

License

All digitalized JRM contents is available freely online. The Foundation for Rehabilitation Medicine owns the copyright for all material published until volume 40 (2008), as from volume 41 (2009) authors retain copyright to their work and as from volume 49 (2017) the journal has been published Open Access, under CC-BY-NC licences (unless otherwise specified). The CC-BY-NC licenses allow third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution to the original work.
From 2024, articles are published under the CC-BY licence. This license permits sharing, adapting, and using the material for any purpose, including commercial use, with the condition of providing full attribution to the original publication.

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