INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Up to 80 percent of amputees and a significant portion of paraplegics experience phantom pain, which can be a debilitating experience. A new procedure is giving patients hope to cast away their phantom pain.

Veterinarian Betsy Helbing Garza, who hasn’t been able to walk in 15 years, said phantom pain can be a terrible experience.

“About two months after my injury, I started having this awful shooting pain in my legs that just felt like I was being electrocuted,” Garza said.

According to Neursurgeon Scott Falcid, phantom pain is caused from faulty nerves.

“The nerve cells that receive the information where they can become hyperactive, sending false signals to the brain,” Falcid said.

With advanced imaging, doctors can pinpoint which overactive nerves are causing the pain.

“It’s done under the operating microscope. Then we place a similar electrode once we’ve identified them in those precise areas and deliver radio frequency heat,” Falcid said.

Just days after the procedure, Garza felt the relief.

“Not only do I have decreased pain, I have zero pain,” Garza said.