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RSD is the abbreviation for REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY. RSD is a progressive, incurable, neurological
disease. In short, it's a pain amplified syndrome that hosts many symptoms. The pain from RSD is the
worst form of chronic pain to date. In some cases, it's more painful than Cancer!
Who develops RSD?
ANYONE and EVERYONE can develop RSD. No one is immune! Men, women and children of all ages are afflicted
with this horrible disease.
RSD can manifest after a trauma such as a sprain, broken bone, shrapnel, and surgery. Even a sliver
can cause RSD! Other causes are viral infections, heart attacks, insect bites, and in some cases no known cause
can be cited. Additionally, RSD can develop immediately following the inciting event or it can take up to a year
or more to develop.
What are the symptoms of RSD?
RSD is a unique disease in that it affects everyone differently. Not everyone who develops RSD has
the same symptoms or area(s) affected by it. For some, the RSD is limited to an arm, for example. For another, it may be a
leg. For others still, the RSD may be in a leg, an arm, and shoulder. There are some who have RSD throughout their ENTIRE
body.
Some characteristics of RSD include (but are not limited to):
Severe burning, crushing, throbbing, stabbing pain.
Skin color changes (mottled, red, blue, purple, or cyanotic)
Abnormal sweating
Pathological changes to bone and skin
Extreme Sensitivity To Touch, Noise, Sound, Vibrations, and/or Temperature.
Swelling
Skin Can Be Hot Or Cold To Touch
Blurred Vision
Muscle Spasms
Difficulty Initiating Movement
Fatigue
Skin Rash
Dry Skin (sometimes moderate-severe)
Abnormal Hair Growth
Brittle Nails
Irritability
Sleep Disturbances
| Sample of skin color changes: |
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| These pictures are of my daughter's hands and feet. |
Can RSD spread?
YES! Some medical professionals believe it does, others do not. I'm here to tell you with 100%
absolute certainty, RSD can and DOES spread in some individuals!
~I recently met with a specialist who told me that RSD does not spread - "it stays limited
to one area. If the symptoms do spread, then it's called Amplified Pain Syndrome or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome."
(see Diagnosis section below) It has been documented that approximately 80% of individuals with RSD have had it spread
& some doctors still call it, RSD while others call it something else. See why this disease is so confusing? No one agrees
on the what's, why's, how's, statistics, etc. Not to mention, what to call it!
What are the treatment options most recommended?
There are a host of treatments available for RSD, but it's important to keep in mind that what one
treatment (or combination of treatments) works for one person, may or may not work for another. There is NO universal treatment.
Successful treatment(s) is reached through "trial and error."
Some of the most common treatments used by doctors are:
Medicines (oral, topical & IV)
Nerve Blocks
Therapy (PT, OT, Aqua Therapy, Psychotherapy)
Spinal Cord Stimulators
Criteria for Diagnosing
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I (RSD)
- The presence of an initiating noxious event, or a cause of immobilization
- Continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia with which the pain is disproportionate to any inciting
event
- Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes
more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of the pain
- This diagnosis is excluded by the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree
of pain and dysfunction
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type II (Causalgia)
- The presence of continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia after a nerve injury, not necessarily
limited to the distribution of the injured nerve
- Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes
more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of pain
- This diagnosis is excluded by the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree
of pain and dysfunction.
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