Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a type of chronic pain that sometimes occurs after a traumatic injury. Car accidents, gunshot wounds, falls, medical negligence and assaults can all cause an injury that leads to CRPS. CRPS can also be triggered by surgery, infection, stroke or heart attack. Even minor traumas can cause CRPS. It’s a serious problem that unfortunately presents itself in many workers’ compensation claims.

The main symptom of complex regional pain syndrome is intense pain, which gets worse over time. Additional signs and symptoms may include: "Burning" pain in your arm, leg, hand or foot; skin sensitivity; joint stiffness, swelling and damage; muscle spasms, weakness and loss (atrophy); and decreased ability to move the affected body part.

CRPS occurs in two types with similar signs and symptoms, but different causes:

Type 1. Previously known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, this type occurs after an illness or injury that didn't directly damage the nerves in your affected limb. About 90 percent of people with complex regional pain syndrome have type 1.

Type 2. Once referred to as causalgia, this type follows a distinct nerve injury.

The cause of CRPS isn't clearly understood. Many cases of CRPS occur after a forceful trauma to an arm or a leg, such as a gunshot wound or shrapnel blast. Other major and minor traumas - such as surgery, heart attacks, infections, fractures and even sprained ankles - also can lead to CRPS.

If CRPS isn't diagnosed and treated at an early stage, the disease may progress to more disabling signs and symptoms, such as muscle wasting and contracture. An example of muscle wasting is when the skin and muscles begin wasting because a person hasn’t moved their limb due to pain or stiffness. An example of contracture is the tightening of the muscles that may lead to a condition in which one’s hand and fingers or foot and toes contract into a fixed position.

Occasionally, CRPS may spread from its source to elsewhere in your body. The symptoms may migrate from the initial site of the pain, for example, from your hand to your shoulder, neck and face, referred to as the continuity type. The symptoms may spread from one limb to the opposite limb, called the mirror-image type. Sometimes, the symptoms may leap to a distant part of your body, referred to as the independent type.

Most CRPS cases are often misdiagnosed or not treated in a timely fashion, and it is important to have secondary medical examinations and tests if the symptoms persist. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like a referral to a qualified Illinois attorney with experience dealing with CRPS cases and can help in recovering damages suffered as a result of poor medical treatment.