Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Phantom Pain
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Phantom Pain
What exactly is 'phantom pain' and how does it work?
Hannah and Dara investigate a medical phenomenon that's been known about for centuries but is often misunderstood; and involves masses of unanswered questions.
The condition 'phantom pain' is when someone gets a sensation of pain that feels like it's coming from a part of their body that's no longer there - so that could be an amputated limb, or perhaps something that has been removed, such as a tooth or an organ. It's thought to be caused by how the brain and body process pain and physical awareness, but there's still debate around what exactly is going on neurologically.
Researchers around the world are looking into the condition; in the meantime, people who experience phantom pain - like today's studio guest Lynn - often have to try out a range of treatments, to find out what combination works best for them. But as the team discover, pain is deeply subjective - and in this case, there is really no 'right answer'...
Contributors:
- Tamar Makin, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge, where she leads the Plasticity Lab;
- Lynn Williams, a qualified therapist and upper limb amputee who volunteered as a subject for one of Tamar’s research programmes;
- Carlos Roldan, Associate Professor in the Department of Pain Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center;
- Keren Fisher, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who’s worked in the NHS for more than four decades; largely in pain management at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
Producers: Emily Bird & Lucy Taylor
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Audio Production
View all episodes
By BBC Radio 4
4.8
738738 ratings
What exactly is 'phantom pain' and how does it work?
Hannah and Dara investigate a medical phenomenon that's been known about for centuries but is often misunderstood; and involves masses of unanswered questions.
The condition 'phantom pain' is when someone gets a sensation of pain that feels like it's coming from a part of their body that's no longer there - so that could be an amputated limb, or perhaps something that has been removed, such as a tooth or an organ. It's thought to be caused by how the brain and body process pain and physical awareness, but there's still debate around what exactly is going on neurologically.
Researchers around the world are looking into the condition; in the meantime, people who experience phantom pain - like today's studio guest Lynn - often have to try out a range of treatments, to find out what combination works best for them. But as the team discover, pain is deeply subjective - and in this case, there is really no 'right answer'...
Contributors:
- Tamar Makin, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge, where she leads the Plasticity Lab;
- Lynn Williams, a qualified therapist and upper limb amputee who volunteered as a subject for one of Tamar’s research programmes;
- Carlos Roldan, Associate Professor in the Department of Pain Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center;
- Keren Fisher, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who’s worked in the NHS for more than four decades; largely in pain management at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
Producers: Emily Bird & Lucy Taylor
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Audio Production
More shows like Curious Cases
View all
Global News Podcast
7,849 Listeners
Business Daily
528 Listeners
More or Less
855 Listeners
Newshour
1,070 Listeners
World Business Report
297 Listeners
In Our Time
5,565 Listeners
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
2,100 Listeners
The Infinite Monkey Cage
1,967 Listeners
No Such Thing As A Fish
4,874 Listeners
Comedy of the Week
475 Listeners
BBC Inside Science
412 Listeners
The Life Scientific
227 Listeners
Unexpected Elements
364 Listeners
CrowdScience
478 Listeners
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
355 Listeners
Have You Heard George's Podcast?
235 Listeners
Sliced Bread
149 Listeners
Elis James and John Robins
330 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
3,218 Listeners
Sport's Strangest Crimes
78 Listeners
What The F*** Is Going On? with Mark Steel
89 Listeners
Uncanny
665 Listeners
Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley
568 Listeners
Believe in Magic
628 Listeners
We Can Be Weirdos
195 Listeners
The Global Story
394 Listeners
Miss Me?
244 Listeners
The History Podcast
50 Listeners
Rory Stewart: The Long History of...
77 Listeners
Lunchbox Envy
49 Listeners
The History Bureau
83 Listeners