Complex regional pain syndrome, usually called CRPS, used to be called reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). Doctors began using CRPS when they found it was a more accurate way of describing the syndrome.

The symptoms of complex regional pain syndrome include:
- a burning pain in the affected area
- skin sensitivity beyond what you would normally expect
- changes in skin temperature, color, or texture of the affected area, different from the other limb
- shiny or sweaty skin

CRPS, complex regional pain syndrome, is a painful disorder that does affect more women than men - more than twice the number. Doctors and researchers don't know why it affects more women, but many illnesses do affect one sex more than another.

Philip M. FInch, Lone Knudsen, and Peter D. Drummond. Reduction of allodynia in patients with complex regional pain syndrome: A double-blinded placebo-controlled trial of topical ketamine. In PAIN. Vol. 146. Pp. 18 to 25.

When people experience a musculoskeletal injury, one that involves muscles or bone, recovery depends on many things ranging from the obvious (treatment) to the not-so-obvious (fear of movement causing pain). While most people who are injured at work are able to return to their position within a reasonable amount of time, up to 20 percent do not recover quickly and live with prolonged pain and disability, resulting in a delayed return to work.

Complex regional pain syndrome is a little understood but very painful syndrome that can begin after a seemingly minor injury. What makes this syndrome even more puzzling is the allodynia, severe pain results from a relatively harmless action, such as brushing lightly against the affected limb. Because it is neuropathic, or nerve pain, it is particularly hard to treat.

When medications are first developed, they are usually developed to treat a specific issue. Once the medication is approved for use for that issue, doctors and researchers sometimes notice that other problems may improve when they prescribe the medication to their patients.

Somatic pain isn't really pain that is in your head, although that is an easy way to look at it. Somatic pain is a process of a mental or emotional feeling or stress that becomes a physical feeling. The feeling is very real to the person and the brain is interpreting it as very real.

Without a thorough examination, it wouldn't be possible to say if your nausea is physical or "in your head," but either way, that doesn't mean that your nausea isn't real. Stress and other factors can make our body believe that it is ill or in pain; it's part of the overall reaction.

Living with chronic pain can be difficult, particularly if you don't know the cause. You don't say what types of doctors you've seen but it may be worth your while to see a pain specialist. Most pain specialists are anesthesiologists, doctors who specialize in relieving pain.

Pain is a very individual experience and while some people are able to cope with intense pain, others have difficulty coping with what some may consider to be mild pain. Add to this that pain is not always caused by a specific thing, such as a broken bone, a cut in the skin, or a mass in the body and you will see that pain is very complex.

Somatisation (also spelled somatization) is the process of a mental or emotional feeling or stress becoming a physical feeling. Researchers often wonder about somatisation and psychosomatic behavior because it's a puzzling part of the human body and mind. Not only is it puzzling, it's very common. Many people experience somatisation at some point, with fatigue and nausea for example.