1sweed, I copied this off of a website because it was much faster and my fingers are not cooperating well tonight....
Sorry it's a lot, but it sums up the syndrome pretty well in my opinion.
What is CRPS/RSD?
CRPS/RSD is a chronic condition characterized by severe burning pain, pathological changes in bone and skin, excessive sweating, tissue swelling, and extreme sensitivity to touch. The syndrome is a nerve disorder that occurs at the site of an injury (most often to the arms or legs). It occurs especially after injuries from invasive procedures, such as surgeries, intra venous treatments, injections or anything that penetrates the skin. However, it may occur without apparent injury. It can also occur from something such as a broken limb, sprained ankle or a simple bee sting. The condition was first documented (and named "Causalgia") in the 19th century by physicians concerned about pain that Civil War veterans continued to experience after their wounds had healed. Doctors often called it "hot pain," after its primary symptom. Over the years, the syndrome was classified as one of the peripheral neuropathies, and later, as a chronic pain syndrome.Currently, there are two types of CRPS that are differentiated-type I and type II. Both types share the same basic set of symptoms, but have one distinct difference: type I (previously referred to as RSD) describes cases in which there is no nerve injury, while type II (formerly called causalgia) refers to cases in which a distinct nerve injury, for example a surgery or invasive trauma, has occurred.CRPS/RSD is one of the most painful afflictions known to medical science.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of CRPS/RSD usually occur near the site of an injury, either major or minor, and include: burning pain, muscle spasms, local swelling, increased sweating, softening of bones, joint tenderness or stiffness, restricted or painful movement, and changes in the nails and skin. One visible sign of CRPS/RSD near the site of injury is warm, shiny red skin that later becomes cool and bluish.The pain that patients report is out of proportion to the severity of the injury and gets worse, rather than better, over time. It is frequently characterized as a burning, aching, searing pain, which may initially be localized to the site of injury or the area covered by an injured nerve but spreads over time, often involving an entire limb. It can sometimes even involve the opposite extremity. Pain is continuous and may be heightened by emotional stress. Moving or touching the limb is often intolerable. Eventually the joints become stiff from disuse, and the skin, muscles, and bone atrophy.
The symptoms of CRPS/RSD vary in severity and duration. However, there are usually 3 stages associated with CRPS/RSD, and each stage is marked by progressive changes in the skin, nails, muscles, joints, ligaments, and bones. Stage 1 lasts from 1 to 3 months and is characterized by severe, burning pain at the site of the injury. Muscle spasm, joint stiffness, restricted mobility, rapid hair and nail growth, and vasospasm (a constriction of the blood vessels) that affects color and temperature of the skin can also occur.In stage 2, which lasts from 3 to 6 months, the pain intensifies. Swelling spreads, hair growth diminishes, nails become cracked, brittle, grooved, and spotty, osteoporosis becomes severe and diffuse, joints thicken, and muscles atrophy.As the patient reaches stage 3, changes in the skin and bones become irreversible, and pain becomes unyielding and may now involve the entire limb. There is marked muscle atrophy, severely limited mobility of the affected area, and flexor tendon contractions (contractions of the muscles and tendons that flex the joints). Occasionally the limb is displaced from its normal position, and marked bone softening is more dispersed.CRPS/RSD was originally thought to be the result of malfunctioning nerves of the sympathetic nervous system-the part of the nervous system responsible, for example, for controlling the diameter of blood vessels.