By: Judy Greenwood, Esq. and Stephen P. Ulan, Esq., Law Offices of Judy Greenwood, PC
Have you been in an accident or been the subject of a surgery gone wrong causing you not only an injury but chronic pain that seems excessive for the injury you suffered? Sometimes the pain is so bad it becomes debilitating and keeps you from functioning? Because the "pain" cannot be seen are your complaints minimized or dismissed by those around you?
You may have a condition formerly referred to as "RSD" or reflex sympathetic dystrophy but now identified as "CRPS" or chronic regional pain syndrome, a very real condition that affects approximately 26.2 per 100,000 persons, with females being affected at least 3 times more often than males, according to one study. CRPS has been said to affect some 200,000 people each year in the United States. Once diagnosed many patients are referred to pain management specialists for pain relief and ongoing care.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a known chronic health problem that causes long-lasting pain. The pain is often excessive and prolonged and very often follows after an injury to or surgery on an extremity. CRPS is classified as one of the most painful chronic pain condition known, reaching 42 out of 50 on the McGill Pain Scale, higher than non-terminal cancer or amputation of a finger without anesthesia. Flares of CRPS can cause pain that is worse than childbirth The pain may be due to C-fiber-mediated neurogenic inflamation at the injury site, where the nerve is trying to repair itself.
There are 2 types of CRPS:
Symptoms of CRPS include:
The outcomes in CRPS can vary from person to person, and in some people can be quite severe. Physical therapy and exercise can be used to help improve blood flow and ease symptoms. It can also help improve the affected limb’s flexibility, strength and function. CRPS can cause emotional or psychological issues for those affected. People might have depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder and can make the pain seem worse.
Some reports suggest that treatment is most effective when it started early in the course of the illness, but the benefits of treatment can vary irrespective of when the treatment occurs in the course of the condition. CRPS can be acute or a chronic, permanent disability, and there is no great understanding as to what causes it to be either acute or chronic, nor any way of accurately predicting if it will improve or go away over time in an individual patient. CRPS, may also progress to more-disabling signs and symptoms such as:
CRPS can be debilitating for the person affected. While the Social Security Administration recognizes CRPS as a potential cause of disability depending on its severity and impact on a person’s life, like all pain syndromes CRPS is often not well recognized or understood despite its’ actual adverse effect on the individual who suffers from this condition.
Some resources for learning about CRPS include the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
