12. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

One of the most confounding disorders to have been discovered by the medical community is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The exact cause is still unknown, but the general consensus is that it is typically brought on by some sort of injury to a limb, whether it’s as minor as a needle puncture or as major as a fracture. So far, it is seen more commonly in the upper extremities but has been found in the lower as well. Because so little is known about this debilitating disease, there is currently no cure, and it is extremely difficult to manage the pain associated with the symptoms.

The affected area experiences a gamut of confusing signs that often leads to a patient being repeatedly misdiagnosed, lending a hand to irreparable nerve damage and blinding pain. After an injury hasn’t properly healed, a CRPS patient typically notices a change in color of the skin on the affected area (a reddish-purple) along with swelling and drastic differences in temperature to the touch— that is, if they can stand touching the limb at all. When electrical-type burning pain isn’t continuously flowing through the hand or foot, even the slightest brush of a feather against the skin holds the potential for a shockwave of pain that can cause the person to lose consciousness.

CRPS only worsens over time and often leads to the amputation of the affected extremity in the interest of improving one’s quality of life. This particular syndrome is thought to have a mind of its own, however, because, even after amputation, the condition has been known to “jump” to the opposite limb and start all over again.

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