What Is The Best Treatment For Complex Regional Pain Syndrome?

Posted on Thu, 27 Aug 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 Answered on

Sat, 19 Sep 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : What is the best course of treatment for CRPS Complex regional pain syndrome? It has been 3 years since the onset, and I have already had a spinal cord stimulator implanted and removed due to severe infection.
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I'm sorry you've been waiting so long.

Detailed Answer:
If you really mean complex regional pain syndrome, then you mean a condition in which upregulation of pain is a prominent factor. This would be characterized by hyperalgesia (increased pain response), dysgesia (normal sensations eliciting pain). Nerve dampers would be a main treatment : gabapentin, pregabalin, other anti-epileptics, nortryptiline or amitryptiline and perhaps muscle relaxants that work on spinal neurons (carisoprodol). Various ways of killing pain nerves could perhaps be tried.
And, narcotics are generally not thought to be a good treatment for CRPS.They upregulate pain. and physical exercise that elicits pain might be helpful in downregulating it.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar