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Why can I feel pain in my missing foot?

Question

My missing foot – why can I still wriggle my toes and how come I can feel phantom pain in it? How does that work?
Glen, Romford

Answer

Name: James O'Brien
Qualification: Did biology in school a long time ago
Answer: You know about pain because your brain tells you something is hurting. Therefore, even if you no longer have a foot, your brain is still getting the message that it is hurting and therefore, you feel the pain, even though the foot isn’t there. I do admit a psychologist could perhaps pad this theory out a bit more.

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