Phantom pain syndrome (PPS) has attracted the attention of scientists and physicians for many years. In recent decades, the number of patients with PPS has increased due to the growing number of victims of local conflicts, natural disasters, and industrial accidents, as well as the rise in occlusive vascular diseases of the lower extremities. Given the pathogenesis of PPS, treatment for this condition is aimed at suppressing the pathological activity of peripheral pacemakers and hyperexcitable neuronal aggregates and activating the antinociceptive system. Bioacoustic correction, an innovative technique that has demonstrated its effectiveness in the complex treatment of functional CNS disorders and the consequences of organic brain damage, is currently one of the most promising approaches to treating PPS.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the severity of phantom pain syndrome in patients with amputated limbs following mine blast injury using a course of bioacoustic correction.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was conducted at Branch No. 2 of the A.A. Vishnevsky National Medical Research Center for Military-Mechanical Engineering of the Russian Ministry of Defense. 60 patients with phantom pain syndrome participated in the study. Using a simple fixed randomization method, all patients were divided into 2 groups: a control group (n=30) and an intervention group (n=30). The control group received only basic drug therapy (BMT) according to the protocol. Patients in the intervention group, in addition to BMT, received BAC procedures (10 25-minute sessions daily). The effectiveness of phantom pain syndrome therapy and concomitant psychophysiological status disorders was assessed based on the dynamics of the following parameters: neurological examination data, phantom pain syndrome severity, visual analog pain scale (VAS); DN4 questionnaire; Pain Detect questionnaire; McGill Pain Questionnaire short form; Epworth sleep quality questionnaire.

RESULTS

The treatment regimen in the control and study groups demonstrated significant positive dynamics across all pain assessment scales. However, a comparative analysis of the obtained results revealed a significant advantage of additional BAC therapy. The use of this non-drug technology contributed to a significant reduction in the severity of neuropathic pain and the proportion of patients with abnormal sleepiness.

CONCLUSION

The use of the BAC technique promotes a more pronounced analgesic effect, which is achieved through adaptive reorganization of thalamocortical detectors in the affected limbs by modulating neuroplasticity processes.