Complex regional pain syndrome

Complex regional pain syndrome or CRPS is an uncommon but very disabling pain disorder.

Complex regional pain syndrome cycle
The syndrome (collection of symptoms) is characterised by reduced range of motion, pain outside of normal, and taut shininess and mottling of the affected limb, which is abnormally sensitive to touch.

 

Causes of complex regional pain syndrome

CRPS is a group of symptoms which occurs very uncommonly after injury or surgery or prolonged joint immobilisation, especially in young people and in which there is an abnormal response to the injury where the vascular and nervous systems respond inappropriately to injury.

Synonyms: 
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Causalgia
CRPS
RSD
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Related Content

Why re-injury is common in CRPS patients

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) - formerly known as...

Early Recognition of CRPS after Knee Surgery

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS is a somewhat poorly understood but accepted pain syndrome marked by injury or surgery to a limb followed by a constellation of alarming symptoms.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

An overview of the topic of CRPS, excerpted from a leading medical publication.

The pattern in unmanaged or unmanageable CRPS

Part of a course

Early warning signs of CRPS

Awareness of the early stages of CRPS is key to identifying and managing this problem.

The 'reflex arc' and how it relates to CRPS

Understanding the terminology.

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CLINICAL PUBLICATIONS

Autoinflammatory and autoimmune contributions to complex regional pain syndrome Clark JD, Tawfik VL, Tajerian M and Kingery WS. Mol Pain. 2018; 14: 1744806918799127.

Clinical features and pathophysiology of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome – current state of the art. Marinus J, Moseley L, Birklein F, Baron R, Maihöfner C, Kingery WS and van Hilten JJ. Lancet Neurol. 2011 Jul; 10(7): 637–648.

A Day-Hospital Approach to Treatment of Pediatric Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Initial Functional Outcomes. Logan DE, Carpino EA, Chiang G, Condon M, Firn E, Gaughan VJ, Hogan MPT, Leslie DS, Olson KPT, Sager S, Sethna N, Simons LE, Zurakowski D and Berde CB. Clin J Pain. 2012 Nov-Dec; 28(9): 10.1097/AJP.0b013e3182457619.

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