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What is phantom limb pain?

On Behalf of | Feb 24, 2022 | Personal Injury |

If you’ve lost a limb in an amputation accident, such as a severe car accident, you may still feel pain in that limb in the future. This is known as phantom limb pain. Doctors now know that your brain and nerves are involved in this process, whereas they used to think it was purely psychological. But it’s not. The pain is not all in your head. You really do feel it even though the limb is missing.

It’s also possible to have the feeling that you still have that limb, even though you don’t. This can happen without any pain. You may forget that you’ve suffered the amputation at times. It can be very disconcerting to still feel like an arm or a leg is there when you can clearly see that it is not, and this can take a psychological toll – even if you’re not technically in pain.

What can you do about it?

Treatment options are often very limited if you’re already experiencing this. It may just be something that has to become a part of your life for a while until your body overcomes the feeling on its own. There are options that doctors can use during surgery to make the odds of phantom limb pain a bit lower, but you clearly don’t have those options if you were involved in a car accident or some other type of catastrophic event.

What rights do you have?

If you’re dealing with phantom pain and all of the other ramifications of a lost limb, and you believe the fault lies with someone else, then you need to know about your right to seek financial compensation.