What Most Don't Understand About CRPS

If you have complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), you might experience the challenges of trying to make people understand what you’re going through. This rare condition only affects about 200,000 Americans every year, but it still needs to be addressed and treated.

At Palo Alto Mind Body, we’re a team of chronic pain/CRPS specialists led by M Rameen Ghorieshi, MD, MPH. Our mission is to hear you, identify the source of your condition, and provide you with superior treatment and care.

When you have CRPS, you may struggle to name your pain, which can be frustrating. When you don’t feel understood, you need pain management experts to step in. We can help.

Understanding CRPS

Chronic or complex regional pain syndrome occurs when you have ongoing, persistent pain — even after your injury has healed. You can typically feel the pain in your arms or legs, and it’s usually the result of an injury you had in the past.

Your injury might result from a:

Sprain
Fracture
Soft tissue injury
Wound, such as a cut or burn
Past surgery
Cast that immobilized a certain limb

You can also have CRPS as a result of a past stroke.

Different types of CRPS

CRPS falls into two categories. They include:

Type I

Type I means your past illness or injury didn’t involve your nerves, therefore, it didn’t cause any nerve damage.

Type II

Type II occurs after you have damaged your nerves, which results in nerve damage.

Your CRPS can be acute or chronic, and it’s usually treatable.

What’s it like to have CRPS?

When you have CRPS, your symptoms go beyond the cause, which is why it’s challenging for others to understand it. For example, the smallest touch to a certain area on your body can cause excruciating pain.

Symptoms of CRPS might include:

Mobility issues
Tremors
Stiff joints
Weakness
Muscle spasms
Pain that spreads to other areas in your body
Swelling in your affected limb
Painful, burning sensation in your limbs
Sensitivity to cold temperatures
Changes in your skin’s color, texture, and temperature

The pain patterns that occur can be confusing, mostly because they’re believed to stem from nerve damage or inflammation.

You can also experience physical pain that stems from mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Though some might not make the connection between mental and physical pain, we understand it. Psychiatric disorders and physical pain use some of the same pathways in your nervous system. That’s why they can be tied to each other. That’s also why psychotherapy might be offered as a treatment option, among many others.

If you have pain that’s difficult to explain, you don’t have to suffer. Book an appointment with our pain management experts as soon as possible. We can identify the root cause and begin a personalized, effective treatment plan to help you start feeling better.

We have offices in the surrounding Bay Area, including South Bay, North Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, and San Francisco, California. Call 650-681-2900 today, or click here to book an appointment online.