Investigation of the Impact of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet on The Chronic Pain Experience Among Adults with an Acquired Limb Loss: A Pilot Study.

Abstract

Purpose: Acquired limb loss can be a traumatic experience that is often accompanied by chronic pain (ie, phantom limb pain (PLP) and/or residual limb pain (RLP)) and can cause a reduction in emotional well-being and overall quality of life. Although, there are available treatments for PLP/RLP, few provide long-term relief. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the potential benefits of diet on reported pain and quality of life measures among adults with acquired limb loss.

Methods: Seven adults with acquired limb loss (M = 50.57, SD ± 13.63 years of age) were enrolled in a 6-week low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) intervention. Baseline, 3-week, and 6-week measures of pain sensitivity (BPI, NPQ), cognitive flexibility (CFS), depression (CES-D, PROMIS-57), anxiety (PROMIS-57), pain resilience (PRS), and overall quality of life (SF-36) were obtained using validated questionnaires.

Results: On average, all participants had appreciable levels of depression (M = 18.71, SD ± 6.16) and anxiety (M = 19.71, SD ± 5.94), yet relatively high levels of pain resilience (M = 44.42, SD ± 6.70) at baseline. After 6 weeks, participants showed improvements in self-reported measures of pain severity, emotional well-being, and other psychosocial measures of interest, including depression and anxiety.

Conclusion: These results suggest that an LCD might have an influence on multiple chronic pain-related factors among adults living with an amputation. Furthermore, adults living with chronic PLP/RLP may report high resilience, although high levels of depression and anxiety are also reported.