Editing Phantom limb (section)

==Signs and symptoms==

Most (80–100%) amputees experience a phantom limb, with some of them having non-painful sensations.<ref name="PhantomReview2007">{{cite journal |last1=Chahine |first1=Lama |last2=Kanazi |first2=Ghassan |date=2007 |title= Phantom limb syndrome: A review |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0f8d/2b80b5c20ed0e21076de4b5ac48327ca05d2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721010514/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0f8d/2b80b5c20ed0e21076de4b5ac48327ca05d2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-07-21 |journal= MEJ Anesth|volume=19 |issue= 2|pages=345–55 |s2cid=16240786 |access-date=July 20, 2019 }}</ref> The amputee may feel very strongly that the phantom limb is still part of the body.<ref name="Melzack1992">{{cite journal |author=Melzack |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald Melzack |year=1992 |title=Phantom limbs |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/phantom-limbs-2006-09/ |journal=[[Scientific American]] |volume=266 |issue=4 |pages=120–126 |bibcode=1992SciAm.266d.120M |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0492-120 |pmid=1566028|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

People will sometimes feel as if they are gesturing, feel itches, twitch, or even try to pick things up.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pain Perception in Phantom Limb |url=http://flipper.diff.org/app/items/info/6681 |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=flipper.diff.org}}</ref> The missing limb often feels shorter and may feel as if it is in a distorted and painful position. Occasionally, the pain can be made worse by [[stress (medicine)|stress]], [[anxiety]] and [[Weather pains|weather changes]].<ref name="textbook">{{cite book |author1=Nikolajsen, L.  |author2=Jensen, T. S. |year = 2006 |veditors=  McMahon S, Koltzenburg M | title = Wall & Melzack's Textbook of Pain |pages=961–971 |edition=5th |publisher=[[Elsevier]]}}</ref> Exposure to extreme weather conditions, especially below freezing temperatures, can cause increased sensitivity to the sensation. Phantom limb pain is usually intermittent, but can be continuous in some cases. The frequency and intensity of attacks usually declines with time.<ref name="textbook"/>

Repressed memories in phantom limbs could potentially explain the reason for existing sensations after amputation. Specifically, there have been several reports from patients of painful clenching spasms in the phantom hand with the feeling of their nails digging into their palms. The motor output is amplified due to the missing limb; therefore, the patient may experience the overflow of information as pain. The patient contains repressed memories from previous motor commands of clenching the hand and sensory information from digging their nails into their palm. These memories remain due to previous neural connections in the brain.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ramachandran |first=Vilayanur Subramanian |author-link=V. S. Ramachandran |date=1998-11-29 |title=Consciousness and body image: lessons from phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and pain asymbolia |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |volume=353 |issue=1377 |pages=1851–1859 |doi=10.1098/rstb.1998.0337 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=1692421 |pmid=9854257}}</ref>