Three months after a below-knee amputation, a 48-year-old man has continuous burning pain felt in the absent foot, triggered by light touch over the stump. Pregabalin has produced partial relief. Which non-pharmacological intervention has demonstrated benefit for this condition?
- A Mirror therapy ✓
- B Stump refashioning surgery
- C Graduated compression bandaging of the stump
- D Ultrasound physiotherapy of the residual limb
Correct answer: A. Mirror therapy
Explanation
Phantom limb pain is a classic central sensitisation phenomenon after amputation. Mirror therapy exploits cortical remapping and visual feedback to relieve it, supported by randomised trials and systematic reviews. Stump refashioning treats local stump pathology, not phantom sensation. Compression bandaging and ultrasound address somatic stump issues and have no established effect on phantom pain, making them the tempting but wrong distractors here.
Reference: Bonica's Management of Pain, 5th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.