CRPS Treatment

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), is a complex pain condition that typically affects a limb following injury, surgery, or trauma. It's characterised by pain disproportionate to the initial injury, often accompanied by changes in skin colour, temperature, swelling, and movement difficulties.

CRPS involves changes throughout your body's systems—not just the nervous system, but also immune responses, autonomic function, and changes in the affected limb itself. Your body has become highly sensitised and protective of the affected area. In some cases, people experience a sense of disconnection or disownership from the limb.

This isn't 'all in your head'—it's a real condition with physical manifestations. Research shows changes in brain activity, communication pathways in the central nervous system, and the limb itself. Your body has learned powerful protective responses, and while these were initially helpful, they've become part of what keeps symptoms going.

CRPS is typically diagnosed using the Budapest criteria, which look at specific patterns of symptoms. Understanding what's happening is the first step toward recovery. With the right approach, many people achieve significant improvements or complete resolution of symptoms.

Many traditional approaches to CRPS don't acknowledge the complexity of the condition. They may push people to continue with tasks and rehabilitation that feels too much, which can lead to more flare-ups, increased sensitivity, and growing desperation. While keeping active is important, doing too much without the right foundation can make things worse.

Other approaches focus only on the affected limb in isolation—treating swelling, prescribing pain medication, or immobilising the area—without addressing the whole-person nature of CRPS. This misses the bigger picture of how your body's protective systems, stress responses, immune function, and life circumstances all interact.

Effective CRPS treatment requires integrated care and a sophisticated understanding of pain. This means working with your body's protective systems rather than against them, creating stability first, then gradually building capability. It includes techniques like Graded Motor Imagery that help restore more balanced communication between your brain and body, alongside strategies that address your whole life context.