Complex regional pain syndrome is one of the most complex and confusing chronic pain-causing conditions, often leading to misdiagnoses and delayed treatment for many patients. At Macomb Pain Management, our team of board-certified pain management doctors has decades of experience treating challenging chronic pain cases, including complex regional pain syndrome, and we are here to give you the tools you need to manage your pain. Let’s take a closer look at complex regional pain syndrome, its signs, causes, and when you should seek treatment from pain management doctors like ours.
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a type of neurological pain-causing condition that typically occurs after a traumatic injury to a leg, arm, hand, or foot. When a traumatic injury happens to the body, it is normal for pain signals to travel to the brain while you recover from your injury. However, in some cases, pain signals can persist in the brain long after the injury has healed. This is one of the hallmarks of complex regional pain syndrome, alongside pain levels that exceed what you would expect from the amount of trauma you initially received. Additional symptoms of CRPS include:
- Heightened pain response
- Pain from mild stimuli
- Extreme sensitivity to touch
- Skin temperature changes
- Swelling
Next, we’ll take a closer look at how CRPS pain differs from other types of chronic and acute pain.
How CRPS Pain Differs From Other Types of Pain
After an initial injury, most patients experience a decrease in pain as the injury begins to heal. With CRPS, the opposite happens with patients experiencing more pain as the initial injury heals and long after it has completely healed. Patients may also experience heightened pain from mild stimuli like clothing and extreme sensitivity to touch. CRPS can also cause a decrease in your fine motor skills as well as your general mobility and range of motion. It is also fairly common for CRPS pain to spread far beyond the original injury site. If you notice these signs and symptoms, it is possible that CRPS is responsible for your pain.
What Causes CRPS Pain?
There are many specifics about CRPS pain that are not yet well known, but it is believed that CRPS pain is caused by issues with the peripheral and central nervous systems. It is also well known that CRPS primarily presents in patients after they have suffered a traumatic injury. Other factors that might contribute to CRPS pain include:
- Abnormal inflammatory response
- Nerve damage or misfiring
- Sympathetic nervous system dysfunction
- Circulatory impairment
While there is still a lot to be learned about CRPS pain, there are effective treatment options to help you manage CRPS pain available at Macomb Pain Management.
Treatments for CRPS Pain
Since CRPS pain is complex, an effective treatment plan relies on a multi-layered treatment approach. This can include:
- Nerve blocks
- Spinal cord stimulation
- Peripheral nerve stimulation
- Physical therapy
At Macomb Pain Management, our team of pain management doctors has experience helping our CRPS pain patients find treatment options that are safe, effective, and affordable. Contact our team today to have your CRPS pain evaluated and develop a treatment plan alongside our board-certified pain management doctors.
Relief From Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) at Macomb Pain Management
If you’re struggling with complex regional pain syndrome or suspect that CRPS is responsible for your pain, the team at Macomb Pain Management is here to help. To get started with your treatment, contact our team today at (248) 844-8281.
