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
7,639 Listeners
Business Daily
519 Listeners
More or Less
876 Listeners
Newshour
1,046 Listeners
World Business Report
293 Listeners
In Our Time
5,520 Listeners
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
2,110 Listeners
The Infinite Monkey Cage
1,920 Listeners
No Such Thing As A Fish
4,870 Listeners
Comedy of the Week
476 Listeners
BBC Inside Science
407 Listeners
The Life Scientific
217 Listeners
Unexpected Elements
366 Listeners
CrowdScience
476 Listeners
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
360 Listeners
Have You Heard George's Podcast?
233 Listeners
Sliced Bread
133 Listeners
Elis James and John Robins
307 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
3,177 Listeners
Sport's Strangest Crimes
65 Listeners
What The F Is Going On? with Mark Steel
91 Listeners
Uncanny
814 Listeners
Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley
555 Listeners
Believe in Magic
643 Listeners
We Can Be Weirdos
188 Listeners
The Global Story
386 Listeners
Miss Me?
239 Listeners
The History Podcast
56 Listeners
Rory Stewart: The Long History of...
75 Listeners
Lunchbox Envy
55 Listeners
The History Bureau
74 Listeners