Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

The complex regional pain syndrome is not a very common condition which is associated with chronic pain that usually attacks the arms or the legs. It is only on very few occasions does it attack any other part of the body. The condition affects people in age group 20 to 35 years old and more common in women than men. Sometimes children are also attacked.

The researchers have not been able to squarely point on anything as a cause of complex regional pain syndrome condition but rather many multiple causes that give same messages to the nervous system. It is believed to be a dysfunction of either the central or the peripheral nerve system. When the condition is an injury related one then it is caused by immune response which lead to inflammatory symptoms of redness, heightened temperature and possibly a swelling in the affected area.

The commonest symptom of complex regional pain syndrome is where the name is derived from. It is the great continuous pain which instead of getting better it gets worse by the day. If it is caused by an injury either to the finger or to the toe, it spreads all over the side of the body and in some cases to the other side. Other symptoms of the complex regional pain syndrome that can help notice the condition include swollen and stiff joints in the affected area. The motor is also disabled as the ability of moving the affected area is reduced. The temperature of the skin around the affected area is changed. In some cases it goes up while in some cases it goes down. The color of the skin around that area change color and may look pale. In most case the hair growth is either reduced to low growth and in some cases it become rapid.

At the moment there are no known diagnostic tests for the complex regional pain syndrome. The tests that are used are those of other know conditions. They are used to rule out those diseases. Some time the physician use stimulus test to know the affected area. They could just touch the part to see the patient’s reaction or feel the temperature.

Since there is no known cure for the complex regional pain syndrome, the usual treatment is only to relieve the pains and some psychotherapy and physical therapy.

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