Abstract
Phantom limb pain is a puzzling phenomenon, from the viewpoints of both the patient
experiencing it and the clinician trying to treat it. This review focuses on psychologic
aspects in the origin of the PLP and critically evaluates the various psychologic
interventions in the management of PLP. Whereas pharmacologic and surgical treatments
often fail, psychologic interventions may hold promise in managing PLP. Studies using
cognitive-behavioral therapies and hypnotherapy are reviewed. The outcome reports
for psychologic therapies have been mainly positive. The results of the majority of
these studies show a reduction in PLP. However, the lack of well controlled and randomized
trials makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding the effectiveness of
these psychologic therapies in the treatment of PLP.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 21, 2012
Accepted:
April 3,
2012
Received in revised form:
April 1,
2012
Received:
January 8,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
