Diagnosing CRPS(Complex Regional Pain Syndrome)

Known to occur after undergoing surgery, stroke, heart attack, or any other kinds of physical injury; chronic regional pain syndrome or CRPS can affect any part of the body although it commonly strikes the arms or legs. For sufferers, the burning feeling characterizing it is said to be much worse than the actual pain of the injury itself. Also referred to as causalgia or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, you may also experience any or all of the following symptoms in the affected area: swelling, uncommon sweating, oversensitivity, discolored skin, and a change in temperature.

Despite the symptoms identifying CRPS, its exact cause still baffles medical experts. As is often the case, people with this condition experience pain long after their injuries have healed. In getting a diagnosis, your doctor would use your symptoms and the result of the physical examination, which you are required to take, as the basis. Since there are varied kinds of tests to verify CRPS, your doctor could give you a test differentiated from what is given to others. However, be reminded that to improve your chances, it's always best to seek diagnosis and treatment while CRPS is still in the early stages—the earlier, the better.

- Maricel Modesto