HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Phantom limb pain relief by contralateral myofascial injection with local anaesthetic in a placebo-controlled study: preliminary results.

AbstractOBJECTIVE:
To ascertain the existence of contralateral painful muscle areas mirroring phantom pain and to evaluate the short-term effects of anaesthetic vs saline, injected contra notlaterally to control phantom and phantom limb pain.
DESIGN:
Double-blinded cross-over study.
SETTING:
Inpatients; rehabilitation institute.
PARTICIPANTS:
Eight lower limb amputees with phantom limb pain in the past 6 months.
INTERVENTIONS:
Either 1 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine or 0.9% saline injected alternately in each point with a 28-gauge needle, with 72 h between injections. Main outcome measurePhantom sensation modification and the intensity of phantom limb pain (visual analogue scale) before and after injections.
RESULTS:
Although present, painful muscle areas in the healthy limb do not mirror the topographical distribution of phantom limb pain. Sixty minutes after the injection, a statistically significant greater relief of phantom limb pain was observed after using local anaesthetic than when using saline injection (p = 0.003). Bupivacaine consistently reduced/abolished the phantom sensation in 6 out of 8 patients. These effects on phantom sensation were not observed after saline injections.
CONCLUSION:
Contralateral injections of 1 ml 0.25% bupivacaine in myofascial hyperalgesic areas attenuated phantom limb pain and affected phantom limb sensation. The clinical importance of this treatment method requires further investigation.
AuthorsRoberto Casale, Francesco Ceccherelli, Alaa Abd Elaziz Mohamed Labeeb, Gabriele E M Biella
JournalJournal of rehabilitation medicine (J Rehabil Med) Vol. 41 Issue 6 Pg. 418-22 (May 2009) ISSN: 1651-2081 [Electronic] Sweden
PMID19479153 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)
Chemical References
  • Anesthetics, Local
  • Sodium Chloride
  • Bupivacaine
Topics
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Amputation, Surgical
  • Amputation, Traumatic (drug therapy)
  • Anesthetics, Local (administration & dosage)
  • Bupivacaine (administration & dosage)
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Injections
  • Leg (surgery)
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pain Measurement
  • Phantom Limb (drug therapy)
  • Sodium Chloride (administration & dosage)
  • Treatment Outcome

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: