Phantom Limb Pain
Have you heard that people whose limbs have been amputated feel pain at the extremities of the amputated limb?
This continuous painful sensation of the missing limb after amputation is known as phantom limb pain.
You would probably imagine that if someone’s limb were to be unfortunately amputated, that limb would cease to exist entirely, with no sensation left behind. Right?
However, scientific research concludes otherwise!
As per the International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001, 90% of the amputees have experienced pain in the extremities of their amputated limb. 60-70% of amputees report pain for up to one year after the amputation, but then it reduces over time.
Spooky much?
So what does science have to say about this?
Unfortunately, science has no definite answer to what causes phantom limb pain, yet. It however attempts to explain this in the following manner:
Renowned medical science website, WebMD says,
“Researchers don’t know exactly what causes phantom limb pain. One possible explanation: Nerves in parts of your spinal cord and brain “rewire” when they lose signals from the missing arm or leg. As a result, they send pain signals, a typical response when your body senses something is wrong”
So basically, when the brain/spinal cord is getting rewired to account for the missing limb, it senses something wrong, and sends the “pain” signal.
So are there any real life stories of the phantom limb syndrome?
People have reported terrifying episodes of phantom limb pain such as:
A man suffering from paralysis with a complete lesion of the spinal cord described painful and itchy feeling in the lower part of his lost foot. He could feel extreme pain in his knees and toes after amputation.
Similarly, a young man who became paraplegic after a car accident described waking up to the pain in his toes as though the nail on one toe was growing into another.
Another patient expressed a sensation of being invaded by insects, not only crawling all over his skin, but also through his veins.
Medical science has no specific drugs to treat phantom limb pain. But medicines for other conditions such as depression or epilepsy are expected to bring certain relief. Apart from the anti-depressants there are other non-drug therapies that help in easing the pain.
Isn’t it scary? So are there any answers to this query at all?
In school of Theosophy, this topic is addressed in a book called, “The Etheric Double” by Arthur E. Powell.
The book mentions that all substances on earth have a “phantom” body which is also called the “etheric body”. This body is a duplicate of the physical visible body. Hence, this is also referred to as the Etheric Double!
It has various roles, of which the key role is to be an intermediary between the physical visible body and to say for simplicity sake, the mind.
The physical body receives sensations, while the mind perceives it. The mind initiates action / motion / reaction, and the body follows the instructions of the mind.
Therefore, any sensation of pain or reaction to external stimuli will be passed on to the mind. This passage of stimuli occurs through the etheric body!
Let’s understand this Etheric body a bit more before we understand why the pain in the amputated part.
While the etheric matter is invisible in ordinary sight it is purely ‘physical’ in nature. This means it can be affected by cold, heat or even by powerful acids. The connection between the physical body and the etheric body is so strong that injuries caused on etheric body can be visible on the physical body.’
Now, coming to the moot question –
When a person’s limb is amputated, his / her physical limb is removed. However, its etheric counterpart remains intact. This etheric counterpart continues to be affected by the surrounding stimuli, leading to sensations as if the limb still existed.
Thus, as the etheric part stays attached to the rest of the body till it is physically removed, it gives out the sensations when something affects the limbs. So any pain felt in the etheric arm, will send signals to the physical brain.
To make sure the sensations are not transmitted from the astral centre to the physical brain, the etheric matter of that part must be removed. Once the connection between the dense physical body and the astral body is broken, the sensations will cease. It is also possible to drive out a patient’s own etheric matter from, say an arm or a leg, for complete anesthesia in the limb.
The possibility of utilizing knowledge of etheric phenomena for purposes of Pranic healing, mesmerism and hypnotism is limitless. In particular, the use of mesmerism to produce anesthesia for surgical or other purposes, in place of ether, gas, or chloroform is often recommended.
Now you know the true cause of phantom limb pain! With complete knowledge about the etheric body and its connection with the physical body, the topic surely isn’t as spooky anymore.
If your loved ones have experienced similar sensations, share the experience with us in the comments section below.
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