Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Author Spotlight: Insights into Remotely Supervised Neuromodulation Procedure for Phantom Limb Pain
Published on: March 1, 2024
Relieving phantom limb pain with multimodal sensory-motor training
A M De Nunzio1,2,3, M A Schweisfurth4,2, N Ge2
1Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston B152TT, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Objective:
The causes for the disabling condition of phantom limb pain (PLP), affecting 85% of amputees, are so far unknown, with few effective treatments available. Sensory feedback based strategies to normalize the motor commands to control the phantom limb offer important targets for new effective treatments as the correlation between phantom limb motor control and sensory feedback from the motor intention has been identified as a possible mechanism for PLP development.
Approach:
Ten upper-limb amputees, suffering from chronic PLP, underwent 16 days of intensive training on phantom-limb movement control. Visual and tactile feedback, driven by muscular activity at the stump, was provided with the aim of reducing PLP intensity.
Main Results:
A 32.1% reduction of PLP intensity was obtained at the follow-up (6 weeks after the end of the training, with an initial 21.6% reduction immediately at the end of the training) reaching clinical effectiveness for chronic pain reduction. Multimodal sensory-motor training on phantom-limb movements with visual and tactile feedback is a new method for PLP reduction.
Significance:
The study results revealed a substantial reduction in phantom limb pain intensity, obtained with a new training protocol focused on improving phantom limb motor output using visual and tactile feedback from the stump muscular activity executed to move the phantom limb.
More Related Videos
11:29Real-time Video Projection in an MRI for Characterization of Neural Correlates Associated with Mirror Therapy for Phantom Limb Pain
Published on: April 20, 2019
09:42Author Spotlight: Using Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface to Improve Motor and Cognitive Function in Stroke Patients
Published on: September 1, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....
What is a Sensory System?
Pain
Arteries of Lower Limbs
Veins of Lower Limbs
Formed by the union of the medial and lateral plantar veins, the posterior tibial vein, rising through the calf muscle, assimilates the fibular vein. The anterior tibial vein, a superior extension of the foot's dorsalis pedis vein, merges with the posterior tibial vein at the...
Sensory Modalities
General senses refer to the broad category of sensory information detected by receptors in the body and can be further grouped into somatic and visceral senses. Somatic sensations include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain and are essential for navigating our environment and...