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Traveling Light When Life is Heavy: Designing an Essential CRPS Medication Toolkit for When Efficiency is Priority

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Article

Introduction There are a great many reasons why someone may need or prefer to make the most of a few medications, maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of minimal prescriptions which work well for them and address the most limiting symptoms that impact their daily life.  Whatever an individual’s personal motivation, today let’s discuss the major … Read More “Traveling Light When Life is Heavy: Designing an Essential CRPS Medication Toolkit for When Efficiency is Priority” »

CRPS Through The Ages: A Historical Overview

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Article

Introduction Let’s examine CRPS throughout history: what it has been called, the major historical events that brought greater awareness of and understanding about the condition, and how the stories and stereotypes of the past can impact us today.  Originally seen as a condition that primarily affected young men suffering from high-velocity impact wounds—such as gunshots—during … Read More “CRPS Through The Ages: A Historical Overview” »

Post Exertional Malaise: Chronic Fatigue, Cognitive Effort, and Exertion

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Article

Introduction Many individuals with CRPS experience significant fatigue, a symptom that is often overlooked and under-reported in CRPS literature. However, research has shown that 85% of CRPS patients experience fatigue, with the majority of that being severe (67%) or moderate (15%) fatigue. Particularly for the subset of patients with severe fatigue, pain at rest and … Read More “Post Exertional Malaise: Chronic Fatigue, Cognitive Effort, and Exertion” »

Allostatic Load: The Price of Adaption

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Article

Introduction You’ve likely heard the term homeostasis in a biology-related class before: the body’s ability to maintain stable internal environmental systems despite external changes.  However, have you heard the term allostasis or the body’s ability to adjust the internal environmental systems to meet external stressors? Are you familiar with the term allostatic load or the … Read More “Allostatic Load: The Price of Adaption” »

Hoping Against Hope: Despair, Hopelessness, and Integrity

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Article

“Paradoxically, hope is on intimate terms with despair. It asks for more than life promises. It is poised for despair.” — Cheryl Mattingly Hope is a multifaceted thing that can be “characterized in multiple ways: as an existential state; as a posture towards the world; as a practice involving significant work; and importantly, as inherently … Read More “Hoping Against Hope: Despair, Hopelessness, and Integrity” »

Personal Care Programs and CRPS: In-Home Health Aides

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Article

Many individuals with CRPS or other disabilities may find they need assistance with tasks of daily living—such as meal preparation, bathing, dressing, mobility, shopping, or transportation. Some people may have friends or family willing and able to take on caregiver roles while others lack social supports who can fulfill their needs or any social supports … Read More “Personal Care Programs and CRPS: In-Home Health Aides” »

Desensitization and CRPS: Exposure-Based Approaches

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Article

As expounded on in the previous article on Centralized Pain, we discussed how prolonged pain system activation can lead to hyper-responsiveness and lowered thresholds so nerves fire more easily, a dual phenomenon called wind-up and sensitization. Sensitization is when pain loses its protective properties and becomes maladaptive and pathological; but the protective purpose of pain … Read More “Desensitization and CRPS: Exposure-Based Approaches” »

Centralized Pain and CRPS

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Article

Many with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome experience disproportionate pain that is no longer being sustained by an injury or noxious event (even if an injury may have been the initial trigger) that remains contained to a single body area or they may develop widespread, disparate pain and dysfunction that can affect multiple body areas over … Read More “Centralized Pain and CRPS” »

Swelling and Manual Lymphatic Drainage

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Article

Ballooned, enlarged, puffy, unbalanced, or disproportionate-looking CRPS-affected areas are a regular occurrence in the experience of those with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome—whether that is to mild or extreme degrees and whether it is come-and-go, was highly visible close to onset and became less visible over time, or is a 24/7-round-the-clock symptom. Let’s discuss what’s going … Read More “Swelling and Manual Lymphatic Drainage” »

Noshing for Neural Health: Tyrosine and Tryptophan

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Article

In search for avenues to put CRPS into remission or reduce the impact of symptoms in daily life, many individuals may explore whether dietary adjustments can have a role in CRPS mitigation and management. To be clear, diet will not “cure” CRPS, but it can have a significant influence on the quality and intensity of … Read More “Noshing for Neural Health: Tyrosine and Tryptophan” »

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