New RSD Treatments

When you suffer reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), you experience a burning pain within one or more of your peripheral extremities that may be accompanied by swelling, stiffness, weakness and even atrophy. More commonly referred to as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I, the associated symptoms of the condition generally worsen over time, especially when left untreated. And while the more conventional methods of remission have proven quite effectual, advances in medicine have supplied new and additional treatment options. Each treatment plan usually entails pain management, psychological support and physical therapy.

Pain Management

• Since you're dealing with a form of chronic pain, the first area of treatment involves the management of this pain. In the past, treatment relied heavily on antidepressants, anticonvulsants and corticosteroids to reduce the presence of pain. Today, this is still the case, so your doctor may recommend that you begin treatment with amitriptyline (an antidepressant), gabapentin (an anticonvulsant) or prednisone (a corticosteroid). These help treat nerve damage and reduce inflammation that may be causing the pain.

  However, as with almost any condition that affects the body, you may be eligible for a clinical trial. Clinical trials are really the most recent treatments available for RSD. Ketamine is probably one of the newest, but you may also find trials for thalidomide. With ketamine, you're actually using an anesthetic to "retrain" certain receptors in the brain that may be causing you to feel abnormal pain. Thalidomide is a sedative and blood cancer medication that has shown positive results in relation to RSD, but the exact reason how it improves the condition is still unknown.

Psychological Support

• As you work to manage your pain, you can also benefit from some type of psychological support. This may come in the form of personal counseling or group therapy, but, regardless of the method, it provides you with coping strategies for the pain. Many people who deal with chronic pain can begin to suffer from depression and other anxiety-related disorders. By taking part in psychological therapy, you can better handle the stress that often accompanies pain, so talk to your doctor about therapists and support groups that specialize in chronic pain.

Physical Therapy

• Another element used in conjunction with pain management and psychological support is physical therapy. Though it may not seem like an important facet in the treatment of RSD, new approaches have come a long way to reducing pain associated with this syndrome. And much like the other modes of treatment, physical therapy is administered in a number of ways. Besides physical exercise and a modification of daily activities, physical therapist are now using nerve stimulation and biofeedback to better treat this form of CRPS.

  Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) administers periodic impulses into the spine to actually interrupt or block the abnormal pain signals going to your brain. In biofeedback, you're taught to become more attuned to your body, so that relaxation may bring about relief of your pain.