Treatment of chronic phantom limb pain using a trauma-focused psychological approach

Background: Chronic phantom limb pain (PLP) is a disabling chronic pain syndrome for which regular pain treatment is seldom effective. Pain memories resulting from long-lasting preamputation pain or pain flashbacks, which are part of a traumatic memory, are reported to be powerful elicitors of PLP. Objective: To investigate whether a psychological treatment directed at processing the emotional and somatosensory memories associated with amputation reduces PLP. Methods: Ten consecutive participants (six men and four women) with chronic PLP after leg amputation were treated with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Pain intensity was assessed during a two-week period before and after treatment (mean number of sessions = 5.9), and at short- (three months) and long-term (mean 2.8 years) follow-up. Results: Multivariate ANOVA for repeated measures revealed an overall time effect (F[2, 8]=6.7; P

Journal

English

Carlijn de Roos
A. C. Veenstra
Ad de Jongh
Margien E. den Hollander-Gijsman
Nic J. A. van der Wee
Frans G. Zitman
Yanda R. van Rood

de Roos, C., Veenstra, A. C. , de Jongh, A., den Hollander-Gijsman, M. E., van der Wee, N. J. A. , Zitman, F. G., & van Rood, Y. R. (2010, March/April). Treatment of chronic phantom limb pain using a trauma-focused psychological approach. Pain Research & Management, 15(2), 65-71