Home-based rehabilitation for phantom limb pain using a mobile app
Official title: Home-based rehabilitation intervention for phantom limb pain in Veterans with lower limb amputations
Funded at Minneapolis VA Medical Center · NIH-11310743 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A mobile app offers guided graded motor imagery exercises to help Veterans with lower-limb amputations manage phantom limb pain at home.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Minneapolis VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5IK2RX004805-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11310743 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Veterans with a lower-limb amputation who are experiencing moderate to severe phantom limb pain and can use a smartphone at home.
✕Less likely to help
People without phantom limb pain, those with severe cognitive or visual impairments, or those unable or unwilling to use a smartphone are unlikely to benefit from this app-based approach.
What this research studies
This project gives Veterans a smartphone app that guides graded motor imagery (GMI) exercises — beginning with recognizing limb position, then imagining movement, and finally using mirror-type visual tasks — to target phantom limb pain. The team will ask 12 Veterans with lower-limb amputation and PLP to try the app at home and take part in interviews about usability and comfort. After each interview they will update the app and ask participants to try the revised version, repeating this cycle to improve the interface and instructions. When the app is refined, the researchers will have Veterans complete multiple at-home sessions to check usability and whether pain and daily function improve over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give Veterans an easy-to-use at-home tool that may reduce phantom limb pain and improve rehabilitation and daily participation.
How similar studies have gone: Graded motor imagery has shown promise in small studies and clinical reports, but delivering GMI via a mobile app for Veterans at home is relatively new with limited prior evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Minneapolis VA Medical Center
Minneapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rich, Tonya L — Minneapolis VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Rich, Tonya L
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Home brain stimulation plus guided touch for phantom limb pain
This project sees if a portable brain stimulation device combined with guided touch exercises can lower phantom limb pain for people who have lost a limb.
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Home-based therapy for managing phantom limb pain in Veterans with amputations
This study is creating a friendly mobile app to help Veterans with lower limb amputations manage phantom limb pain using fun exercises that train the brain, and we want to hear from them to make sure the app works well for their needs.
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Understanding what causes phantom limb pain after amputation
This study is looking at what causes phantom limb pain in people who have had an amputation, and it involves talking to those individuals to better understand their experiences and gather real-time feedback to help create more personalized treatments.
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Training the brain to reduce phantom limb pain
This study is testing a new, gentle therapy to help people who have lost a limb feel less phantom limb pain by training their brains to better process sensations.
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Neuropathic pain after childhood amputation
This project sees how common phantom and residual limb neuropathic pain is and how it affects children and teens who had limb amputations.
-
Effects of magnetic stimulation on phantom limb pain in amputees
This study tests if using magnetic stimulation can help reduce phantom limb pain in people who have had upper limb amputations.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.