Effect of Limb Massage and Exercises on Phantom Limb Pain among Amputee Patients

Phantom limb pain is experienced when the brain sends pain signals to limbs that arenot there. Ongoing military conflicts, motor vehicle crashes and machinery accidents cancause traumatic injuries requiring amputation. Regardless of the cause of the injury,traumatic amputations result in a complex pain management issues. In addition, the postamputationpain can influence patients’ mobility, sleep, and overall quality of life, despite theabundance of literature on phantom limb pain; there remains no clear consensus on themechanisms of the disorder and best method of management. Objective: Determine the effectof limb massage and range of motion exercises on phantom limb pain among amputeepatients. Setting: The study was carried out in Tishreen University Hospital, Lattakia, Syria.Subjects: The study comprised 30 adult male patients with amputee limb (upper or lower)aged 20-60 years. Tools: Socio-demographic and Clinical Data Structured InterviewSchedule and Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Pain Scale (S-LANSS).Results: Results of the present study revealed that the implemented range of motion exercisesand limb massage improved significantly the patients phantom limb pain, whereby the meanscore percent changes after exercises and massage was 26±2.35 percentage, and the LANSSmean score decreased from 14±2.569 to 10±3.288. A statistical significant relation was notedbetween LANSS mean score and injury site and injury duration (P=0.056, P=0.049respectively). Conclusion: Range of motion exercises and limb massage improved pain levelamong amputee patients. Recommendations: Based on the results the researcherrecommended incorporating non-pharmacological methods like limb range of motionexercises and residual limb massage to relieve phantom limb pain.