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Two years ago, I was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome or CRPS for short. At first, I didn't think much about it -- just slower to recover than I expected. But in some ways I'm worse than I was back then. Will I ever get better from this problem?
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The natural history (what happens over time) and prognosis (final outcome) for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) aren't entirely clear and can vary from person to person. Some people recover slowly and completely. Others seem to linger in a state of constant pain and dysfunction. A few actually get worse over time instead of better. You may fall into this last category.
In order to better understand this phenomenon, scientists have been studying the nervous system in patients with CRPS. There is some evidence that the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) [the rest and digest portion] is disrupted in CRPS. That leads to abnormal automatic responses in blood circulation and blood flow to the skin. Symptoms reflecting these changes include severe pain, increased skin perspiration, unusual hair growth patterns, and altered skin temperature.
Why does this happen? We don't know yet. There could be other (independent) factors at work here that we simply haven't discovered yet. Some experts have suggested it's possible that people who develop complex regional pain syndrome (when others with the same injury recover without incident) may have a faulty nervous system to begin with. Now with an injury on top of it, sympathetic nervous system responses become further impaired.
It might be hard to prove this theory. One way to find out is to measure the sympathetic nervous system function in many normal, healthy adults and follow them their whole lives to see who develops CRPS. That's a major undertaking but could be done in conjunction with other lifelong studies already underway.
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*Disclaimer:*The information contained herein is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions, ailments or treatments. The information should NOT be used in place of visit with your healthcare provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this topic. |
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