RSD or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy is not well understood in cause or treatment. The Bridge Recovery Center has had varying success with this debilitating condition. We use nutrition, acupuncture, traditional and non-traditional therapies to promote healing. We have taken several patients with severe RSD / CRPS that have recovered completely and we have taken one other patient that achieved marked improvement but still suffers from flare ups from time to time. Others may not be able to tell you where RSD / CRPS have come from or when it will go away, but like all syndromes your body understands details that others do not. Our work will include deeply involving mind body techniques to utilize your own internal resources to provide understanding and healing. If you suffer from this condition please call us and let us talk you through our rsd and crps treatment center and what you can expect. We would love to help!
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome also known as RSD is a condition where pain never goes away after an injury and even gets worse. The pain becomes a disease in its own right.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, is a chronic neurological syndrome characterized by:
- severe burning pain
- pathological changes in bone and skin
- excessive sweating
- tissue swelling
- extreme sensitivity to touch
There are Two Types of CRPS – Type I and Type II
- CRPS Type I (also referred to as RSD) – cases in which the nerve injury cannot be immediately identified
- CRPS Type II (also referred to as Causalgia) – cases in which a distinct “major” nerve injury has occurred
- Since there is no single laboratory test to diagnose CRPS, the physician must assess and document both subjective complaints (medical history) and, if present, objective findings (physical examination).
- CRPS is best described in terms of an injury to a nerve or soft tissue (e.g. broken bone) that does not follow the normal healing path
- CRPS development does not appear to depend on the magnitude of the injury. The sympathetic nervous system seems to assume an abnormal function after an injury.
Criteria for Diagnosing
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I (RSD)
- The presence of an initiating noxious event, or a cause of immobilization
- Continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia with which the pain is disproportionate to any inciting event
- Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of the pain
- This diagnosis excludes the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type II (Causalgia)
- The presence of continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia after a nerve injury, not necessarily limited to the distribution of the injured nerve
- Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of pain
- This diagnosis excludes the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction.