Today’s post is continued from last week, when we discussed the symptoms of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Today we will discuss treatment options.

The job of your doctor is to identify and treat your symptoms before they become incurable. Common forms of treatment for CRPS are

• physical therapy
• injections
• sympathetic mediated injections
• sympathetic blocks
• nerve conduction studies
• CT scans
• vasomotor studies
• Doppler studies
• bone-density tests
• medications for pain & anti-inflammation

No single form of treatment has been found 100% effective. Because the pain and patient complaints vary, both from patient-to-patient and over the course of the disease, the treatments can vary widely to alleviate symptoms that are constantly changing.

Further complicating matters, patients commonly develop mental symptoms or conditions as they deal with disabling pain and the drastic changes in their life. These secondary effects often disrupt the treatment of the primary cause disease, chronic pain.

Complex regional pain syndrome and chronic pain limit your functioning both in everyday life and on the job. As a result, it is difficult to accurately and properly measure the impact of CRPS on your fitness for duty and ability to perform daily activities. If you have CRPS, you should work with your doctor to document your pain and how it effects your ability to live your life and be productive at work. In turn, your doctor can provide guidance based on their medical training, experience and their experience examining and treating you. There have been significant advances in treating chronic pain with care and medication so patients can return to many of their daily life activities. But treatment is imperfect – it only treats the symptoms, and does not cure the source of the pain.

If you or a loved one suffers from chronic pain or complex regional pain syndrome due to a work accident, consult an experienced attorney for guidance.