Thank you for writing about this monster than invaded my life over 2 years ago. Many of us refer to this disorder by it's old name Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or a conjunction of the two names RSD/CRPS. I often feel like an orphan because this disorder is so unknown, even within the medical community. I think a great part of the confusion results from the may names associated with this disorder. I carry with me to share and to educate others. I have provided each of my doctors and my dentist with information about the disorder
I do have some problems with yor article. There is CRPS-1 which is the result of an unknown nerve injury and CRPS-2 is the result of a known injury. In my case is was a broken wrist from a car accident. Both types of CRPS are a neurological disorder of the central nervous system that manifests in the extremeties (arms and legs). The severity of CRPS is NOT related to the severity of the injury. Both types of CRPS can spread to include the whole body. There is no way to predict how, when and how much it will spread.
The concept of staging is a dying concept, and many look at CRPS as being on a continuum. The concept of staging is mentioned by CRPS experts for historical purposes. Many CRPS patient can have symptoms/characteristics of more than one stage at the same time and they skip a stage as this disease progresses.
CRPS is a very complex disorder that does not follow any timeline or sequence. And each patient does not exhibit the same symptoms. For this reason many times patients are misdiagnosed and treated for many other conditions. The typical CRPS patients will see an average of 5 doctors before getting the correct diagnosis. This results in a delay of the proper treatment, often leading to permanent disability.
There is no one standard treatment. Physical therapy is employed to help a patient to maintain mobility and use of a limb. A wide range of medications are employed to control the many symptoms ranging from swelling to movement disorders. Each treatment regiment is tailored to the individual.
This disorder is filled with controversity because there does not seem to be a standard knowledge taught to doctors in medical schools. Talk to 10 Pain Management doctors and you will get 10 different descriptions and 10 different treatment protocols. I have had 2 Pain Management doctors with completely different opinions of the concept of spreading. My first doctor say it did not spread and my second said it does but mainly in the continuous pattern. What this controversity/ lack of standard knowledge does is leave many patients suffering.
For more information go to RSDHope.org, RSDSA.org and rsdrx.com. These groups focus only on the topic of RSD/CRPS and will provide the most current and up to date information.
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Thank you for writing about this monster than invaded my life over 2 years ago. Many of us refer to this disorder by it's old name Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or a conjunction of the two names RSD/CRPS. I often feel like an orphan because this disorder is so unknown, even within the medical community. I think a great part of the confusion results from the may names associated with this disorder. I carry with me to share and to educate others. I have provided each of my doctors and my dentist with information about the disorder
I do have some problems with yor article. There is CRPS-1 which is the result of an unknown nerve injury and CRPS-2 is the result of a known injury. In my case is was a broken wrist from a car accident. Both types of CRPS are a neurological disorder of the central nervous system that manifests in the extremeties (arms and legs). The severity of CRPS is NOT related to the severity of the injury. Both types of CRPS can spread to include the whole body. There is no way to predict how, when and how much it will spread.
The concept of staging is a dying concept, and many look at CRPS as being on a continuum. The concept of staging is mentioned by CRPS experts for historical purposes. Many CRPS patient can have symptoms/characteristics of more than one stage at the same time and they skip a stage as this disease progresses.
CRPS is a very complex disorder that does not follow any timeline or sequence. And each patient does not exhibit the same symptoms. For this reason many times patients are misdiagnosed and treated for many other conditions. The typical CRPS patients will see an average of 5 doctors before getting the correct diagnosis. This results in a delay of the proper treatment, often leading to permanent disability.
There is no one standard treatment. Physical therapy is employed to help a patient to maintain mobility and use of a limb. A wide range of medications are employed to control the many symptoms ranging from swelling to movement disorders. Each treatment regiment is tailored to the individual.
This disorder is filled with controversity because there does not seem to be a standard knowledge taught to doctors in medical schools. Talk to 10 Pain Management doctors and you will get 10 different descriptions and 10 different treatment protocols. I have had 2 Pain Management doctors with completely different opinions of the concept of spreading. My first doctor say it did not spread and my second said it does but mainly in the continuous pattern. What this controversity/ lack of standard knowledge does is leave many patients suffering.
For more information go to RSDHope.org, RSDSA.org and rsdrx.com. These groups focus only on the topic of RSD/CRPS and will provide the most current and up to date information.
Reta
February 20, 2010 - 1:02pmThis Comment
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