PAMELA – Prevention and Management of Phantom Limb Pain

Organisation: Jena University Hospital, Hannover Medical School (Clinic for Trauma Surgery and Clinic for Rehabilitation Medicine) and Routine Health Care GmbH, Düsseldorf
Partner organisation in partner country: Ukrainian Association for the Study of Pain

Mirror therapy can be used to reduce phantom limb pain. The app used in the PAMELA project enables mirror therapy via the camera function of a tablet, among other things.

Situation:

Numerous people in Ukraine have had to undergo limb amputation. In addition to the restrictions that an amputation places on daily activities, those affected often suffer from phantom limb pain that is difficult to treat. Under the conditions of war in Ukraine, it is difficult to provide the large number of amputees with access to appropriate pain management care.

Objectives:

The PAMELA project has 2 major goals:
(1) Knowledge and skills transfer by providing evidence-based recommendations and teaching materials on the prevention and management of phantom limb pain for interprofessional teams.
(2) Empowering patients to therapeutically self-manage phantom limb pain using a pain app.

Indicators:

number of Ukrainian institutions initiating the app application as cooperation partners
number of amputees who could be treated with the pain app

Measures:

Development of evidence-based recommendations and educational material for surgical techniques to prevent phantom pain
Development of evidence-based recommendations on anaesthesia and acute pain management
Development of evidence-based recommendations for rehabilitation and pain management of phantom limb pain
Adaptation of the existing Routine Rehab App for the treatment of phantom limb pain to the needs of Ukrainian patients with phantom limb pain and their practitioners

Sustainability:

The transfer of knowledge and empowerment for self-management helps to save limited local medical resources and improve the quality of care at the same time. Assuming appropriate adaptations in terms of language and resources, the pain app could also be used in other crisis regions of the world with high amputation rates.

Special features:

The PAMELA consortium is a multinational and interdisciplinary team that brings together the expertise of multiple specialities. We are united by the idea that people affected by amputation in Ukraine must be helped in an uncomplicated and unbureaucratic way so that they can manage with their lives after an amputation.

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