Towards the Eradication of Phantom Limb Pain

Professor Max Ortiz Catalán has made the worldwide eradication of Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) his life mission. PLP is a condition that can considerably hinder a person's quality of life and is currently suffered by the majority of people with limb amputation. Through innovation, education, humanitarian and development aid, and social entrepreneurship, Prof. Ortiz Catalan is working to make PLP an exception rather than the rule, regardless of geographical location and economical possibilities.

Innovation (R&D)

Through research and development; from theoretical and applied investigations to technology development and clinical translation.

Accessible Education

Through the global and multilanguage educational campaign #FightPLP.

Philanthropic Work

Through voluntary humanitarian missions and development aid to regions in conflict and underserved.

Social Entrepreneurship

Through the social purpose company NeuroRehab Technologies.

Raising awareness, reducing stigma, and improving care through education

After a decade of conducting basic and translational research on PLP, including the clinical implementation of new therapies in several countries, Prof. Ortiz Catalan came to the realization that education may play an even bigger role in reducing the global prevalence of PLP than any new treatment or technology alone. Here’s why:

  • Stigma around PLP can prevent patients from seeking help and can lead clinicians to dismiss the condition. This can be fixed through education!
  • Most medical programs teach outdated or insufficient content on PLP (if they address it at all), leading to suboptimal care and poor prevention. This can be fixed through education!
  • Empathy drops when people cannot understand a condition, making it even harder for PLP sufferers to be heard and supported. This can be fixed through education!

This motivate Prof. Ortiz Catalan to launch the global educational campaign #FightPLP, a volunteer-based, non-profit initiative to provide people suffering of PLP and clinicians accessible, science-based, and up-to-date information about PLP and its treatment and prevention.


Learn more at #FightPLP

Innovation through science and technology 

Prof. Ortiz Catalan has researched PLP for over a decade and has published over 40 scientific articles on the nature of this condition and its treatment.   

Mechanistic foundations of PLP. He introduced the Stochastic Entanglement hypothesis for the pathogenesis and treatment of PLP (Ortiz-Catalan, Frontiers in Neurology, 2018). This is currently the scientific hypothesis with the highest explanatory power.

Development of treatments for PLP. He introduce Phantom Motor Execution (PME), which has been effective in patients with chronic intractable PLP (Ortiz-Catalan et al., The Lancet, 2016), and more recently Progressive Motor Training (PMT), which as been shown suitable for constrained resources setting (Ksenchyna et al., Journal of Pain Research, 2026). 

PLP treatment standardization and dissemination. He has led the largest international clinical trials on plasticity-guided and surgical treatments for PLP. He has also led efforts to standardize surgical procedures such as Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR) and Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces (RPNI) so they can be more easily adopted and evaluated (Pettersen at al., Trials, 2023).

Learn more about the Stochastic Entanglement hypothesis

Voluntary Humanitarian and Development work

Prof. Ortiz Catalan conducts humanitarian and development work in conflict-affected and underserved regions. He is currently based in Ukraine, supporting the rehabilitation of the more than 100,000 people who have undergone amputations as a result of the Russian full-scale invasion. He has also carried out voluntary work in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.  

Support rehabilitation in conflict and underserved regions

Social Entrepreneurship 

Prof. Ortiz Catalan founded the social purpose company NeuroRehab Technologies to bring the technologies he developed over a decade of research to those who need them, regardless of geographical location or income. 

Learn more about NeuroRehab Tech.