A Simple Guide to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

by Kenneth Kee

Overview

This book describes Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a poorly comprehended disorder where a person develops persistent severe and debilitating pain.

While most instances of CRPS are precipitated by an injury, the ensuing pain is much more severe and long-lasting than normal.

The pain normally only involves 1 limb but can occasionally spread to other parts of the body.

The skin of the involved body part can become so sensitive that a mild touch, bump or even a change in temperature can produce intense pain.

Affected areas can also become edematous, stiff or go through fluctuating alterations in color or temperature.

CRPS often slowly becomes better over time.

Some people with CRPS may have pain for many years.

Diagnosing CRPS can be complicated since it involves having many tests to exclude other possible causes.

The precise cause of CRPS is not known but it is believed to be the effect of the body responding abnormally to an injury.

The disorder normally appears to develop within a month of an injury, either minor or more serious and can include:
Bone fractures
Sprains and strains
Burns
Cuts

Most people heal from these types of injuries without any considerable long-term effects, but people with CRPS develop pain that is much more severe and persistent than usual.

The pain can extend beyond the original injury site, normally involving an entire limb.

CRPS may affect the whole arm after an injury to the finger or hand.

In some instances, more than one region of the body can be involved.

CRPS has also been known to happen after surgery to a limb or after part of a limb has been immobilized in a plaster cast.

The main symptom of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is pain, which can occasionally be severe, persistent and debilitating.

The patient may have durations of pain lasting a few days or weeks, termed flare-ups, where the pain becomes worse.

Stress in particular can cause flare-ups, which is why relaxation techniques and mindfulness training is an important part of treating CRPS.

If the patient has CRPS, the skin in the affected region can become very sensitive.

Even the mildest touch, bump or change in temperature can produce intense pain.

The patient may hear this sensation documented as these medical terms:
Hyperalgesia – feeling pain from pressure or temperature that would not normally be painful
Allodynia – feeling pain from a very light stroke of the affected skin

Other symptoms are
Strange sensations in the affected limb
Alternating changes to the skin – hot, red and dry, other times it may be cold, blue and sweaty
Hair and nail changes – the hair and nails in the affected limb may grow unusually slowly or quickly
Joint stiffness and swelling in the affected limb (edema)
Tremors and muscle spasms (dystonia)
Difficulty moving the affected body part
Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
Small patches of fragile bones (osteoporosis) in the affected limb

Very rarely, CRPS can also cause complications, such as:
Skin infections and open sores (ulcers)
Muscle atrophy, where the muscles begin to waste away
Muscle contractures, where the muscles shorten and lose their normal range of movement
Some of these problems can make it very difficult for people with CRPS to move around.

There is no single specific test for CRPS.

There is no known cure for CRPS but a combination of physical treatments, medicine and psychological support can help treat the symptoms

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Allodynia
Chapter 8 Intercostal Neuralgia
Epilogue

Product Details

BN ID:	2940165837166
Publisher:	Kenneth Kee
Publication date:	04/13/2022
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	527 KB

About the Author

Medical doctor since 1972.

Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.

Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.

Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 70.

However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in
the afternoon.

He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.

His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com

This autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.

He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.

He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.
For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.
The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.

The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.

He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.

His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.

The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.

He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting
with the Apple computer and going to PC.

The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.

The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.

He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.

His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.

The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.

This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.

Dr Kee is the author of:

"A Family Doctor's Tale"

"Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine"

"Case Notes From A Family Doctor"