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USING EMDR WITH PHANTOM LIMB PAIN

It turns out that PTSD and Phantom Limb Pain have a good deal in common.

 

For example, 20 years after amputation, 70% of amputees still have phantom limb pain. Less than 8% get any permanent relief. The pain seems frozen in the nervous system, whether its emotional pain or physical pain. In our case series, we were able to eliminate phantom limb pain in 80% of those we treated.

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Meg.Director.Sandra.Wilson.PICTURE.IMG_20260423_101504700_HDR.jpg
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We found that there was one place in the world that could image phantom limb pain in the brain and it was at the University of Tuebingen using an MEG machine using the magnetic eminations (see the image at the left). In a few cases we were able to show that EMDR eliminated phantom limb pain as measured by the MEG.

​​-Rostaminejad, Akbar; Behnammoghadam, Mohammad; Rostaminejad, Marzieh, Behnammoghadam, Zargham; Bashti, Somaye 

​(2017). Efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing on the phantom limb pain of patients with amputations within a 24-month follow-up.  International Journal of Rehabilitation Research 40(3):p 209-214, September 2017

​Researchers from Iran published research showing that EMDR was successful in eliminating phantom limb pain in 30 amputees compared to no improvements in 30 patients who received treatment as usual.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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In the 30 patients who were randomly assigned to EMDR treatments, 93% showed either complete elimination of phantom limb pain or substantial improvement

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THESE PLP CASES?

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  • Pain memories can be held, in stasis, in the nervous system, likely in a central location (the brain) over long periods.

  • In EMDR, PLP elimination can occur quite rapidly in some cases, indicating great neuroplasticity.

  • These changes can occur even after years of pain (e.g., after 12 years)

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THESE PLP CASES:  PART II

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  • In other cases, change can be relative complex, slow, and difficult

  • MEG and fMRI are brain imaging techniques that can document pre- and post-treatment brain changes related to PLP (Flor et al., 2006)

  • EMDR and Mirror Visual Feedback are techniques that can be used to reduce or eliminate PLP (Wilson et al., 1997; Wilensky, 2006; Schneider et al. 2008; Chan et al., 2007)

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