What Is CRPS?

Complex regional pain syndrome, otherwise known as CRPS, is a chronic condition that most often occurs in a person's leg or arm, though it can sometime affect other areas of the body as well. CRPS is characterized by a strong burning pain that comes with swelling, discoloration of the skin, sensitivity to touch and sweating in the region of the body that is affected. CRPS is not well understood by doctors, making it a hard condition to diagnose.

Types

There are two types of CRPS that have almost the exact same symptoms but different causes. Type I happens after an injury or illness that failed to have a direct influence on the nerves in a particular limb. This type comprises 90 percent of CRPS cases. Type II follows a nerve injury and was once known as causalgia before being reclassified under CRPS. Both types will come most of the time following a traumatic injury to a leg or to an arm, such as a sports injury. However, such mundane injuries as a sprained ankle or knee can also lead to the mysterious condition.

Effects

An intense burning pain is the most noticeable symptom of CRPS, but sensitive skin can also be another sign. The skin may actually experience changes in temperature and color, becoming sweaty at times and then turning colder. The skin color can vary from red to blue to even white, and it can become shiny in the region that is involved. There can be subtle changes in the person's hair and nail growth patterns, and joints can become stiff and swollen. Weakness in the muscles can lead to loss of muscle tone through atrophy, and the person may have a difficult time simply moving the part of the body that CRPS has attacked.

Time Frame

Most people will see their bout with CRPS go through three different stages. The first will bring acute pain; swelling and sensitivity to touch will follow along with changes in the skin. Stage 1 lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 months and is followed by Stage 2 in which the skin will change colors--a symptom that cannot be missed. The swelling will extend out from the original site and the muscles and joints can begin to feel stiff. This stage lasts from 3 to 6 months. The final stage of CRPS is limited movement of the area that has been distressed by CRPS; the skin can become permanently damaged, with muscle deterioration and contracting of fingers and toes possible as well.

Identification

Seek a doctor's opinion if you experience severe pain in an arm or leg that lingers without a logical cause. If you have been involved in some sort of accident or had surgery, your doctor may suspect CRPS. After a physical exam, the physician may employ a bone scan, X-rays, MRIs and nervous system tests in an attempt to diagnose CRPS. When CRPS is not caught early, it can even migrate to the opposite limb from where it began or to an entire quarter of the body.

Prevention/Solution

This disease can be beaten if treatment begins in the first few months of the onset of symptoms. Pain medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs and even opiates are useful against symptoms, and often a doctor will prescribe bone-loss medications such as Fosamax. Hot and cold applications, capsaicin cream to relieve nerve pain and physical therapy will all be discussed as potential treatments. Nerve-blocking drugs and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, where electric impulses try to halt pain signals to the brain, are possibilities, as is spinal cord stimulation with electric current that aims at achieving a similar result.

Resources

• Mayo Clinic on CRPS