"Just because we can't see our disease...or our pain....doesn't mean it doesn't exist!!"
What is CRPS/RSD?
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition that is believed
to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems. Typical
features include dramatic changes in the color and temperature of the skin over the
affected limb or body part, accompanied by intense burning pain, skin sensitivity,
sweating, and swelling. CRPS I is frequently triggered by tissue injury; the term describes
all patients with the above symptoms but with no underlying nerve injury. Patients with
CRPS II experience the same symptoms but their cases are clearly associated with a nerve
injury. Older terms used to describe CRPS are "reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome"
and "causalgia," a term first used during the Civil War to describe the intense, hot pain
felt by some veterans long after their wounds had healed. CRPS can strike at any age
and affects both men and women, although most experts agree that it is more common
in young women.
to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems. Typical
features include dramatic changes in the color and temperature of the skin over the
affected limb or body part, accompanied by intense burning pain, skin sensitivity,
sweating, and swelling. CRPS I is frequently triggered by tissue injury; the term describes
all patients with the above symptoms but with no underlying nerve injury. Patients with
CRPS II experience the same symptoms but their cases are clearly associated with a nerve
injury. Older terms used to describe CRPS are "reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome"
and "causalgia," a term first used during the Civil War to describe the intense, hot pain
felt by some veterans long after their wounds had healed. CRPS can strike at any age
and affects both men and women, although most experts agree that it is more common
in young women.
Symptoms.
Doctors still do not know what all the symptoms of CRPS are, because each case is
different and not all sufferers present with the same symptoms. Some symptoms
are:
different and not all sufferers present with the same symptoms. Some symptoms
are:
- "burning" pain
- increased skin sensitivity
- changes in skin temperature: warmer or cooler compared to the opposite extremity
- changes in skin color: often blotchy, purple, pale, or red
- changes in skin texture: shiny and thin, and sometimes excessively sweaty
- changes in nail and hair growth patterns
- swelling and stiffness in affected joints
- motor disability, with decreased ability to move the affected body part