G54: Nerve root and plexus disorders

G54.6: Phantom limb syndrome with pain

When someone feels pain there is usually, first of all, pain information in the relevant part of the body. This information is transmitted via nerve fibers to the spinal cord. From there, the information passes via other nerve fibers to the brain. The information is processed in the brain. In this way, the pain in that part of the body is perceived. In the brain, for every part of the body, there is a separate region where the information from that body part is processed.

Body parts can be lost through accidents or by being removed during an operation. Even when a body part is no longer there, the corresponding region in the brain is still there. It can happen that this region in the brain continues to process pain information. Then it can feel as though there is pain in the missing body part.