Hello! Welcome to CRPScontender, where I entwine my personal life experience, science, and education on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. CRPS is a severely disabling neurological pain disorder that can impact the body systemically. Treatment options are limited and the remission window is small, passing for many people before they even acquire a diagnosis; the prognosis is quite poor for those with persistent CRPS. This bleak outlook can empty all joy of life from those affected, but we are not without hope!
While living with CRPS is an immense challenge, there are ways to improve our quality of life, regain function, and reduce our despair and the fear of the unknown. This condition is terrifying and can strip us of our sense of Self; we need to learn how to reclaim our Selfhood while accepting the reality of how CRPS impacts us. We cannot fix our problems, if we do not know what is wrong.
My goal as CRPScontender is to help increase understanding about the mechanisms of how CRPS operates and, based on that understanding, provide pathways for people to help themselves. I take a holistic biopsychosocial approach, firmly rooted in the scientific method and empirical evidence while also being aware of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things.
CRPScontender is therapeutic and restorative for me. I am not a doctor; I am just a person with CRPS and I process through learning. This website is the culmination of my efforts to understand what I am experiencing, changing what is in my power, and mindfully accepting what is not. This is my endeavor for self-compassion. I desire to share the knowledge I accumulate, so that you may also be aware of it and perhaps find it useful and beneficial in your own life.
As we travel this healing journey alone yet together, it is my hope that we become happier, healthier, more integrated versions of ourselves.
contender