Tuesday 30 April 2019

Importance Of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Awareness

By Christine Clark


Pain can often be minor or debilitating depending on the reason and area effected. In the later, complex regional pain syndrome awareness can often be the difference between a quick recovery and prolonged discomfort. As such, if experiencing symptoms of what is also known as CRPS, it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible.

CRPS has the potential to effect one limb or body part, then spread to other parts of the body. There are two subtypes of CRPS. These include sympathetic dystrophy, which occurs after illness or injury though has no lasting damage to the nerves and causalgia which presents with evidence of injury to a nerve or the entire central nervous system.

CRPS is uncommon and causes are not clearly understood at this time. When treatment is started as soon as symptoms occur, it is more likely treatment will be successful. As such, improvement and remission are often possible except in more severe cases in which damage to the nerve or nerves may be permanent.

Most medical professionals propose that alteration and inflammation perceived in the central nervous system play integral roles in the development of pain. While, it has also been suggested that ongoing pain and the perception of stimuli can be caused by peripheral nerves, neuropeptides and inflammatory molecules being released from nerves in the area. It is believed this release is most likely caused by inappropriate communication between motor and sensory fibers in the effected area.

Current treatment plans vary but most all include some aspect of nerve modulation, counseling and medication. For, regardless of the event which caused the condition, single treatments have often been unsatisfactory, especially in cases in which treatment was delayed. Whereas, there are also times when an individual has been able to treat the condition with massage, heat and ice but only in the case of minimal swelling and pain.

Symptoms can be different for each individual though most present as inflammation first, followed by long periods of extreme pain. The symptoms and signs of CRPS generally manifest closest to the site of an illness or injury. Whereas, the most common symptoms are intense burning, stabbing, grinding and throbbing. In almost all cases, the severity of pain associated with CRPS is out of proportion to that of the original event responsible for the development of the condition.

Both aspects of the condition, causalgia and sympathetic dystrophy are considered autonomic dysfunctions which often present with cyanosis and changes in temperature, or edema. If this is the case, individuals may also experience localized swelling and a sensitivity to things which are normally non-painful such as wind, water, noise, vibration and touch.

In the past, the condition was thought to develop in three different stages. More recently, it has become evident that people effected by CRPS do not progress through stages. As such, the condition has no time constraint and can be related to events in the moment such as damage to the body or nerves due to a re-injury or fall.




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