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A 33-year-old member asked:

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy symptoms?

2 doctor answers4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Richard Rosenthal
Pain Management 38 years experience
A nerve disorder: Rsd is a progressive disease characterized by pain, swelling, color and temperature changes in an extremity (usually arm or leg). It is caused by impaired functioning of the autonomic nervous system. Patients can loose function of the affected extremity and it can spread to the unaffected side. Symptoms often manifest after a previous traumatic injury to the area. Treatment is multi-modal.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Robert Madden
Specializes in Anesthesiology
RSD SYMPTOMS: The most common symptoms of RSD include: Allodynia: painful response to non-painful stimulation. Vasomotor symptoms: skin color & temperature changes. Sudomotor symptoms: sweat pattern abnormalities. Trophic symptoms: abnormal skin, hair & nail growth.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

Similar questions

A 37-year-old member asked:

What are the symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy?

3 doctor answers6 doctors weighed in
Dr. Jay Rosenfeld
A Verified Doctoranswered
34 years experience
RSD: Rsd is an old term for a condition now called complex regional pain syndrome . This begins with some type of injury, often a minor one. There is a great deal of pain as well as swelling in the involved limb, sensitivity to even light touch and abnormalities in sweating of the affected extremity. The condition is poorly understood. The mainstay of treatment is aggressive physical therapy.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 40-year-old member asked:

What causes reflex sympathetic dystrophy?

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Romanth Waghmarae
Pain Management 41 years experience
Rsd: Usually some injury - trivial or not - that results in sensitization of peripheral nerve fibers that then results in painful state. If left untreated changes take place in the spinal cord and brain as well.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 36-year-old member asked:

What is reflex sympathetic dystrophy?

4 doctor answers10 doctors weighed in
Dr. Gerry Tolbert
Family Medicine 15 years experience
Now CRPS: Complex regional pain syndrome, formerly rsd, is a pain syndrome, usually occurring in an arm or leg after an injury, but lasting much longer than would be normal for that type of injury. It typically has a component of redness or swelling and is described as burning or aching. There is also no obvious damage to a specific nerve that doctors can find. The cause is not clearly understood.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 40-year-old member asked:

What are usual tests for reflex sympathetic dystrophy?

1 doctor answer5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Jay Rosenfeld
A Verified Doctoranswered
34 years experience
See below: There are no specific tests for causalgia which is an old term for what is not referred to as complex regional pain syndrome. In causalgia, called crps type one there is usually some associated nerve injury so we may do a test called an emg/ncs. Often we do a test called a 3 phase bone scan but this test is not definitivein all cases.Mostly we rely on our physical examination to make the diagnosis.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 45-year-old member asked:

Why is reflex sympathetic dystrophy more common in women?

1 doctor answer2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Richard Rosenthal
Pain Management 38 years experience
Unknown: Rsd is 3x more likely to occur in women than men. The reasons are unclear. It is thought that there is a genetic predisposition to the disease so this may play a role.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

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Last updated Jan 14, 2020
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