Acupuncture for RSD / CRPS

The Use of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy), recently more commonly known as CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), is a neurological condition which causes significant pain, swelling, discoloration, temperature changes, sensitivity, and myriad other symptoms to a limb of the body. This extremely painful condition typically manifests itself following an extreme disruption to the limb, most commonly after injury or surgery. The condition is considered to be chronic, and it can be extremely resistant to conventional treatment. For this reason, patients and physicians alike are more and more commonly seeking out non-conventional treatments, like acupuncture, to attempt to address this obstinate, excruciating condition.

RSD / CRPS is especially hard to treat because it manifests itself in almost every level of the physical make up of the limb. As an aggressive neurological condition, the skin, muscles, joints and bones of the limb are affected. The limb will often swell, will change in color to look bruised, the skin will become sensitive to touch, and the internal muscles, bones, and joints will ache severely and often exhibit a sharp painful experience upon pressure to the affected limb. Many sufferers of RSD / CRPS are incapacitated by the condition. They may be unable to weight bare, and yet experience severe pain when resting the limb on even the gentlest surface, like a blanket or pillow, due to the sensitivity of the skin.

Acupuncture is, in recent years, becoming a very popular treatment for RSD / CRPS. Because acupuncture addresses the body’s response to an adverse event in the body it can be particularly effective in addressing conditions for which conventional, western treatments are ineffective. Acupuncture can be utilized even when the source of a pain syndrome is unknown. For a condition as perplexing and intractable as RSD / CRPS, the utilization of acupuncture can be extremely effective.

What is acupuncture?