A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and is moving appropriately with other body parts; this occurs due to nerve damage or injuries to the spinal cord. The first documented case of phantom limb pain was in 1551 by the French military surgeon Ambroise Paré. He reported that "For the patients, long after the amputation was made, they say that they still feel pain in the amputated part." The term 'phantom limb' was first introduced by the American neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell in 1871. He described that "thousands of spirits limbs were haunting as many good soldiers, every now and then tormenting them.' However, not all phantom limbs are painful, patients often feel as if they are gesturing, feel itches, twitch, or even try to pick up things. Some people's representations of their limbs do not actually match what they should be, for example, one patient reported that her phantom arm was about 6 inches too short (Ramachandran & Blakeslee, 1998). Although a slightly different sensation called "phantom pain" can also occur in people who are born without limbs and people who are paralyzed. Phantom pains happen when nerves that would normally supply the missing limb with nerves, cause pain. It is commonly described as a burning and strange sensation that is extremely agonizing for some people, but this sensation differs widely for individuals. Other induced sensations include tingling, warmth, cold, itching and even tightening. In some cases, these sensations are not always constant. .
It was found that in 75% of cases, as soon as anaesthetic wore of after the amputation, the phantom was felt immediately. Their appearance may be delayed by a few days or weeks in the remaining 25%. (Moser, 1948). In most cases the phantom is present initially for a few days or weeks and soon fades from consciousness. In others, it may persist for decades (30% of patients, according to Sunderland, 1978).
