Debilitating stump
pain following
amputation surgery is a major problem when it affects the patient's quality of life, often making the patient totally dependent on others for their day-to-
day care. Attempts have been made to treat those patients through pharmacological, psychological, and
physical therapies, but in many cases these fail to relieve the
pain. This article focuses on three patients with chronic, intense, and debilitating stump
pain who were previously treated with
pain medications, but with little success. These patients underwent nine sessions of low-intensity
laser therapy (LILT) to the stump - this is a new treatment that has been used to treat other
pain disorders. All patients reported a decrease in the intensity of their
pain and increased ability to perform
daily living activities during a 4-month follow-up.