Through history, many different names have been associated with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Some of these include:
Many more women seem to suffer from CRPS than men (about 75 more). CRPS has been diagnosed in very young children (so much for it being a “manufactured” condition) and usually peaks around midlife.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic disease that often worsens over time. Alarmingly, 35 percent of sufferers eventually report symptoms throughout the body. The disease may remain localized, spread slowly over years, or progress rapidly like a wildfire out of control.
CRPS is associated with imbalance and malfunction of the autonomic nervous system resulting in disability, impairment, chronic pain, and functional loss.
The International Association for the Study of Pain has proposed dividing CRPS into two types.
CRPS Type 1, formerly known as Sudeck’s atrophy or reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), does not exhibit demonstrable nerve lesions.
The vast majority of people suffering from CRPS have this type.
CRPS Type 2, formerly known as causalgia, has obvious nerve damage present. As a rule, type II is considered the more painful of the two types with an unenviable 47/50 score on the McGill pain scale.
The McGill Pain Questionnaire, developed in 1971 by Ronald Melzack and Warren Togerson at McGill University, is designed to measure and quantify clinical pain.
The MPQ assesses three separate components of the pain experience:
An overall score for each major dimension is obtained from the sum of either weighted scores or the ranks of the chosen word within the group.
The debilitating pain caused by CRPS is generally described by patients as aching, burning, bone crushing pain in the affected areas of the body.
The pain is all consuming, not merely nagging. Things that should not cause pain under normal circumstances (for example, the light brush of fabric or wind) may cause a person who suffers from CRPS intense pain.
While CRPS was considered in the past to have three stages, it is now believed that patients with CRPS do not necessarily progress through these stages, or progress sequentially.
CRPS Stage 1 is characterized by intense, burning pain at the site of injury. Muscle spasms, joint stiffness, swelling, restricted mobility, vasospasms, rapid nail and hair growth, decrease in temperature, and decreased range of motion have all been reported.
This has also been called "wet CRPS" as some patients may experience increased sweating.
For a few lucky patients, this stage may last for a few weeks and then resolve on its own. For the unlucky majority, it progresses.
CRPS Stage 2 is characterized by even more intense pain, described by some as similar to the sensation of burning alive or being burned with a blowtorch.
Hair growth is inhibited; swelling spreads; osteoporosis becomes severe; nails may crack, pit, grooved or have spots on them; joints tend to thicken, and the muscles will atrophy or shrink, causing the affected limb to appear thinner than the other.
CRPS Stage 3 is characterized by permanent changes in the skin and bones, while the pain becomes even more intense and now may involve the entire limb. Flexor tendon contractions may be present causing the limb or appendage to contract (much like a claw). The symptoms may spread to any other body part, for example the optic nerves or the digestive system.
The final stage, also known as the chronic phase, is CRPS Stage 3.
If CRPS remains untreated to this point, it becomes difficult or too painful to move the affected limb. This causes the muscles and tendons to waste (atrophy) and contract, which can ultimately cause contractures of the affected hand or foot. These changes can become permanent.
Source: Stanford Medicine: Division of Pain Medicine (2023, March 22). Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Stanford Medicine. https://med.stanford.edu/pain/about/chronic-pain/crps.html
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