An article in The O & P Edge, an online publication of www.oandp.com, the global resource for orthotics and prosthetics information.
Phantom pain—what does it imply? To the uninitiated patient or family member, it connotes a condition in which the pain experienced is not real. It reveals something psychologically sinister and threatening—a kind of medical delusion. It limits patient motivation and family/friend support by labeling a patient as weak, prone to imagine or exaggerate, or even as a hypochondriac. At the least, the term diminishes the legitimacy of suffering—a bad modality to connect to any form of medical intervention or physical rehabilitation.