Early Intervention with a Tactile Discrimination Task for Phantom Limb Pain that is Related to Superficial Pain: Two Case Reports

Abstract

We report the outcome of an early intervention with a tactile discrimination task in 2 patients with phantom limb pain related to superficial pain, after qualitative assessment. Two patients experienced phantom limb pain related to superficial pain after amputation performed because of diabetic gangrene. The 2 patients were asked to discriminate the region of tactile sensation when a cushion was held to the amputation stump. At the beginning of the discrimination task, the patients could not discriminate the region of tactile sensation accurately. However, after the discrimination task, the subjects could discriminate the region of tactile sensation, and the phantom limb pain improved. This result shows the importance of an immediate decision regarding intervention, after the qualitative assessment of phantom limb pain.