By Heather Auxier, APRN-CNP
Certified Nurse Practitioner, Blanchard Valley Pain Management
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic neurological condition that causes severe pain in a limb. The pain is disproportionate to the injury or trauma that caused it. This affects roughly 200,000 people in the United States.
CRPS is believed to be caused by malfunctioning of the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS). Your peripheral nervous system relays information from your brain and spinal cord to your organs, arms, legs, fingers, and toes. The CNS is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The abnormal functioning results in an overreaction to pain signals that your body can’t turn off.
The main symptom of CRPS is prolonged and excessive pain. Other symptoms include the following: