TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PHANTOM LIMB PAIN: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a chronic neuropathic condition that affects patients undergoing amputation, characterized by painful sensations in the absent limb. This review aimed to analyze the main therapeutic modalities applied to the treatment of PLP, evaluating their effectiveness in the short, medium and long term. An integrative literature review was carried out in the PubMed and Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases, with a selection of free articles from the types of observational studies and controlled clinical trials published between 2020 and 2025. Off-topic and duplicate articles were excluded, resulting in 17 articles following eligibility criteria. The results demonstrated that bioelectric nerve block (BNB) and targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) were more effective in the medium and long term. Other techniques such as brain-computer interface (BCI) have proven effective within a few days, although only BNB has sustained results in the short, medium and long term. Adjuvant strategies, such as locoregional anesthetic techniques, have also shown an impact on PLP prevention. It is concluded that, although there is no gold standard treatment, interventions such as BNB appear promising, and the individualized approach is essential in clinical practice