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Abstract

Purpose: Phantom limb syndrome (PLSd) is a frequent chronic complication post amputation and is difficult to manage with conventional medicine. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in the management of other chronic pain conditions but little is known about the effectiveness of acupuncture for themanagement of PLSd. The study is nested in a larger study evaluating the feasibility of acupuncture for treating PLSd and aimed to explore the experience of PLSd and establish the acceptability of acupuncture intervention to treat PLSd. Methods: Study design comprised of a case study approach using multiple cases. One off semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 lower limb amputees 1-3months post-surgery, with past or current experience of PLSd. Interviews explored participants’ experience of PLSd and perceived acceptability of acupuncture intervention. Framework analysis was used to analyse data. Results: 6 key themes were identified during analysis; suffering (prior to amputation), acceptance and coping with the loss of a limb, real and physical phantoms, living with a phantom, being informed about PLSd, acupuncture acceptability. Additionally, outcome measures for the feasibility study were substantiated for ease of completion and relevance. Acupuncture was generally considered an acceptable intervention regardless of positive or negative past experience and few concerns were expressed. Local needling of the residual limb was considered acceptable. PLSd was perceived as a real and physical pain and participants used numerous and often metaphorical descriptions. PLSd frequently disrupted sleep and negatively affected wellbeing and mood. Conclusion: The study contributes to existing evidence exploring the experience of PLSd and identified that PLSd is a bothersome and annoying condition which affects quality of life. Findings suggest that amputees suffering from PLSd would be willing to try a complementary medicine (acupuncture) approach to help manage this condition. Contact: Esme Trevelyan, trevelye@lsbu.ac.uk / Nicola Robinson, nicky.robinson@lsbu.ac.uk