In the United States, there are over 2 million individuals liing with limb loss and roughly 190,000 amputations each year. Amongst this number, the main causes are vascular disease, including diabetes and and arterial disease. Trauma and cancer also have a role in limb loss. After an arm amputation, most individuals report a vivid and continous sensation of their missing limb. Chiropractic care and treatments work to alleviate the pain and calm the nerves that the phantom limb can cause.
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For amputees, the missing limb sensations can be painful and unfortunately, there are no effective treatments for this pain. So the question arises, how could pain arise from a missing hand and what can be done about it? The brain contains a detailed map of our body and allows us to move and feel as we explore the world. The brain is a very dynamic organ that adapts and changes to experiences. We call this flexibilty "brain plasticity". Brain plasticity is the process which we develop from infants to adults to learn new skills and adjust to aging.
It is very important to note that these phantom limb movements differ from imaginary movements and activiate teh same regions of the brain. When moving a phantom limb, the amputee also engages the very same nerves (motor pathway).
Again, with chiropractic care, the overall goal is to calm the nerves in the phantom limb regions. The primary goal is pain relief, but often this can be difficult with phantom limbs but any degree of pain relief will help.