Oftentimes, injuries are a result of construction accidents, car crashes, and/or slip and falls, and these injuries can include fractures, broken bones, and sprains, among others. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same path to healing from their injuries. While healing from one injury, some people may learn that they have a painful condition that can greatly impact the functioning of their limbs, which, after a series of medical evaluations, may be diagnosed as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

What is CRPS?

CRPS, formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (or RSD), stems from a dysfunction within a person’s central or peripheral nervous system, resulting in an overreaction to pain signals after sustaining an initial injury. CRPS can last longer than six months.

There are two types of CRPS:

Type I: Suffered after an illness or injury that did not directly damage nerves in an injured body limb; and

Type II: Suffered after a distinct nerve injury.

Diagnosing CRPS

CRPS more commonly affects adults than children, and while CRPS is relatively rare, it affects roughly 200,000 people per year. Physicians find CRPS to be a very difficult syndrome to diagnose, and it may take some time before a patient is able to receive the diagnosis. Because there are no specific tests that diagnose CRPS, a pain management specialist will have to assess a series of factors known as the “Budapest Criteria” to determine if there are sufficient factors present to make a clinical diagnosis. CRPS is only diagnosed once other diseases are ruled out.

The Symptoms and Long-Term Effects of CRPS

Most cases of CRPS involve people suffering from symptoms four to six weeks after an initial injury. The pain from the symptoms is often described as burning, tingling, or the feeling of pins and needles stabbing a body part.

Early stages of CRPS often include:

• Increased pain, even with the slightest movement;
• Sensitivity to touch on the injured body part;
• Warmth, redness, and swelling on the injured body part;= and
• Decreased mobility in affected body part.

Later stages of CRPS symptoms often include, but are not limited to:

• Change in skin temperature, texture and color; and/or
• Change in hair and nail growth and color.

If you experience any of these symptoms, please contact a physician to begin the treating process as soon as possible.

CRPS limits a person’s physical abilities and daily life activities. It not only affects people experiencing the symptoms first-hand, but also their family members. People suffering with CRPS symptoms often need to be situated in resting positions and spend great amounts of time receiving treatment, oftentimes creating a physical, emotional, and financial hardship for both CRPS victims and their loved ones.

What Can Be Done?

Victims of negligence who develop CRPS deserve to be compensated for their endured pain and suffering.