Many people who have an amputation have some degree of phantom sensation. This is when you “feel” the missing part of your limb. You may feel an itch or a tickle. Or it may feel as if the missing part of your leg is asleep. It is most often mild, not painful.

But sometimes you may have stronger, painful sensations that seem to come from the missing part of your limb. It may feel like a quick zing or flash up your limb. Or it may feel more like burning, twisting, cramping, or aching. When this happens, it's called phantom pain. Persistent phantom pain is far less likely to happen than phantom sensation. And there are things you can do to feel better.

Experts don't know why phantom sensation happens. One common theory has to do with nerves. Nerves that supplied sensation to the missing part of your limb are often still functioning. But they may have been damaged, and the nerve endings are no longer there. This means that your brain may not know how to interpret signals from these nerves. Your brain may think that the signals are coming from the missing part of your limb.

Phantom limb sensation is a diagnosis of exclusion. This means other possible causes must be ruled out. These include poor blood flow, infection, nerve tumor, and pressure wounds. Certain things may trigger phantom pain, such as smoking, vaping, or using other tobacco or nicotine products, chest pain, cold temperatures, or certain physical actions.

Phantom pain is likely to come and go. It may happen more often at night. Keep in mind that you won't necessarily have phantom pain after your amputation. It's far less common than phantom sensation. Phantom pain is most often manageable. But if it becomes hard to live with, talk to your doctor.

Once stitches or staples come out, spend time every day gently rubbing and tapping your residual limb. This will help desensitize it. Phantom pain often improves over time.

There are several ways to treat phantom pain. If needed, ask your doctor if any of these choices might work for you. Those listed below are some of the common treatments. Your doctor may recommend others.

• Medicine. Pain medicines, such as acetaminophen and anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen, are usually tried first. Antiseizure medicine, antidepressants, or other nerve medicines are sometimes tried to treat phantom pain.
• Frequent touch. Massaging, rubbing, and tapping the end of the residual limb helps with desensitization. This can reduce or relieve pain. You may begin massaging your residual limb once the surgical stitches (sutures) or staples are removed.
• Acupuncture and biofeedback
• TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)
• A shrinker sock. Keeping constant pressure on the end of the limb may help to relieve phantom pain.
• Your prosthesis. Like wearing a shrinker sock, using a prosthesis provides steady pressure to the limb. This seems to reduce phantom pain for some people.