How TMR helps treat phantom limb pain

Did you know that  70% of amputees suffer from phantom limb pain? This condition affects the severed nerves that send signals in your brain, which may arise as pain, itching, warm or cold sensations, a sense of strain, or a pins-and-needles sensation. 

Occasionally phantom limb pain can develop from growing neuromas, a group of nerve and scar tissues that become hypersensitive. Even slight stress or touch at the location of the neuroma can cause phantom limb ache. 

Losing a limb is hard enough, but living with phantom limb pain can disrupt your daily life and make wearing your prosthetic limb nearly impossible. Thanks to innovations in medicine and microsurgery, there’s hope for those suffering from phantom limb pain. 

Dr Demetrius applies his vast experience to treat patients suffering from phantom limb pain through a surgical approach known as targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR).

What is TMR?

TMR (targeted muscle reinnervation) takes the severed nerves and surgically reroutes them to adjacent motor nerves and muscles. As a result, a brand new neural circuit is created. In other phrases, the severed nerves have a brand new target to complete their circuit, reducing your phantom limb pain. 

If we discover you’re a candidate for TMR, we start with evaluating your pain using diagnostic testing to discover which nerves or neuromas are triggering the sensations. It takes time for the nerves and muscular tissues to heal, so after your surgery, it can take about six months to experience pain-free results.  

TMR is surprisingly effective, and most patients are able to wear their prosthetics with minimal to no pain. However, TMR is most effective when used with different treatment modalities.

Are you a candidate for TMR?

The only way to know whether you’re a candidate for TMR is to meet with the doctor and let him review your specific case. However, candidates for TMR are patients with:

• Residual limb pain that makes wearing a prosthetic difficult
• Painful neuromas
• Phantom limb pain   

TMR is a dependable approach to decreasing phantom limb pain for qualified candidates. But, there are other solutions, which include:

• Regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) – which deactivates the nerve, 
• Neuroma transaction/excision – which eliminates the tough neuroma and,
• Stump revision – which corrects residual stump that did not heal properly. 

Don’t suffer in silence from phantom limb ache. Contact Dr Demetrius to discuss your case and work towards your pain-free life!