Experienced Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Attorneys

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), is a neurological condition that causes debilitating pain for the person bearing it. While proper medical care can often bring an injury victim back or nearly to where they were, CRPS can sometimes last a lifetime. For those suffering, it is as if the accident continues to follow them.

If you were injured in an accident and were later diagnosed with CRPS, you need an attorney who understands the complexities of this condition and what it takes to get you the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering. To learn more, call or text the Minnesota CRPS attorneys at 612-INJURED at (612) 465-8733.

What is CRPS?

CRPS is a condition that causes pain, movement issues, and changes in skin color. While it typically affects your extremities, such as feet and hands, it can move throughout your body. It often develops after an injury, stroke, heart attack, or surgery.

Most cases of CRPS fall within the age range of 20-35, affecting women more than men. Children and seniors are far less prone to the condition.

Types of CRPS

There are two types of CRPS. Type 1, also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), occurs without any apparent nerve damage. Onset typically happens after injury or illness. Approximately 90% of CRPS patients have this type.

Type 2, sometimes referenced as Causalgia, behaves similarly to type 1. The difference is that this arises after a peripheral nerve injury.

Three Stages of CRPS

CRPS has three stages: acute, subacute, and chronic.

The first stage (acute) lasts no more than 3 months and is characterized by a burning sensation around the injury. This can be accompanied by swelling, redness, and range-of-motion issues.

The second stage (subacute) occurs from approximately months 3-12. The pain, swelling, skin color changes, and motility difficulties continue to get worse and can be accompanied by dry skin.

The third stage (chronic) occurs when the patient enters months 12 and beyond with the condition. It can then last for months, years, or be permanent. Pain can vary from day to day. If the limb is heavily favored due to the pain, osteoporosis can develop.

What are the symptoms of CRPS?

Symptoms of CRPS include:

• Pain that is continuous and continues to get worse over time
• Diminished range of motion and stiffness
• Pain spreading over time
• Disproportionate pain as compared to the severity of the injury
• Swelling of the skin that can vary or stay constant
• Tremor in the affected limb
• Sensitivity to pain in that severe pain can be triggered by gentle contact or change in temperature
• The sensation of burning in the injured limb
• Issue with placing weight or pressure on the affected limb
• Pressure or squeezing feeling the in injured limb
• Skin temperature of the affected limb can be either warmer or cooler than the opposing limb
• Skin texture can become thin or shiny
• Initial rapid hair and nail growth followed by hair loss
• Skin that changes in color to purple or red

What causes CRPS?

Most cases of CRPS are caused by injury, though illness, stroke, and surgery can also lead to this. There are different thoughts about what happens from here.

One prevailing thought is that the function of the sympathetic nervous system is lessened. This, in turn, can cause redness and swelling. It is theorized that the pain associated with CRPS can also be caused by the sympathetic nervous system, as there could be a link between that and the pain receptors.

Some researchers also believe that there might be multiple causes at work with CRPS patients. General inflammation can often lead to pain, but it is characteristic of CRPS for it to be disproportionate to the injury sustained. This is combined with nerve injury and a miscommunication between the nerves and the brain, which can both cause pain and the mind’s perception of it.

Diagnosing CRPS

A diagnosis of CRPS does not come from a specific test. Physicians take into consideration your symptoms, progression of symptoms over time, and if you recently sustained an injury to the affected limb. A certain amount of criteria must be met for the diagnosis, which is outlined in the Budapest Criteria for CRPS.

If you received a CRPS diagnosis after a personal injury, contact a CRPS lawyer immediately to help assess your situation. We will work with you do document the necessary information to ensure that you are compensated for both your accident and the long-term effects of CRPS.

CPRS Treatment

Unfortunately, CRPS has no cure, but there are treatment options that can often help enough to maintain a reasonable quality of life.

• Medication options cover a variety of paths that can be beneficial for pain and other effects of CRPS. Anticonvulsants can calm the nerves associated with the pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) help with pain and inflammation. Bisphosphonates can prevent bone loss sometimes associated with CRPS. Topical analgesic creams help with pain. There are other options, as well. Talk to your doctor about options and what one or combination might work best.
• Desensitization is a process where different objects of varying weights, temperatures, and textures are used in contact of the affected limb.
• Physical therapy can help by giving exercises to increase strength, flexibility, and circulation to the affected limb.
• Psychotherapy helps patients cope with their condition. Since anxiety and depression are known to increase pain, this can be an effective path to minimize the effects of stress with the condition.
• Mirror therapy is accomplished by placing a mirror at an angle so the patient can see the unaffected limb in a manner that looks as though the reflection is the affected limb. By moving the unaffected limb painlessly, it tricks the mind into thinking the affected limb is moving without pain. It has been shown to be effective in reducing chronic pain in just four weeks of treatment.
• Alternative treatments are often sought by patients looking to either reduce or eliminate the need for medication or to complement their current plan. Chiropractic, biofeedback, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), graded motor imagery (GMI), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO), acupuncture, reiki, and hypnosis.
• Sympathetic nerve blocks are used when CRPS is not responding to other therapies. This involves injections of an anesthetic near the spine to interrupt pain signals.
• Spinal cord stimulation is another method used when other methods did not give the relief sought. This involves implanting a generator under the skin in the abdomen or buttocks attached to electrodes near the spine to give low electrical pulses to interrupt the pain signal being sent to the brain.
• Dorsal root ganglia stimulation is another option used when other treatments have failed. This involves electrodes being implanted at the root of the spinal cord, an area where it is thought that pain originates.
• Intrathecal drug pump is another option used after others have failed. This involves a drug pump attached to a catheter, which is then able to deliver pain medication directly into the spinal fluid.

Why Choose Us

The CRPS attorneys at 612-INJURED understand the complexities that go into a personal injury claim where CRPS has developed. They know that the long-term effects of the condition justifies more than what would normally be expected from personal injuries without it. We will provide the representation for your injury and CRPS to make sure you get the settlement you deserve.

Talk to a Minnesota CRPS Lawyer Today

The pain associated with CRPS can be life changing. You want an attorney who can not only represent you for the injury sustained in your car crash, slip & fall, or other accident that led to your CRPS, but one who can represent you for the long-term pain and suffering associated with the condition. Call or text the Minnesota CRPS lawyers at 612-INJURED today at (612) 465-8733.

While early diagnosis and appropriate treatment offer the highest probability of effective care of CRPS/RSD, there is no single diagnostic tool for the condition, which makes it difficult to identify and remedy.

The condition affects each person who is affected by CRPS/RSD differently and may be diagnosed through the patient’s:

• Medical history
• Clinical examinations
• Laboratory results
• Degree of physical pain and dysfunction

If the pain from your physical injury is getting worse and is more severe than would be expected from the original trauma, you may be experiencing CRPS/RSD.

What are the Common Signs and Symptoms of CRPS/RSD?

CRPS/RSD is considered an abnormal neurological response, and can result in common signs and symptoms that include:

• Aching, burning, cold, or deep pain that does not subside with healing
• Abnormal swelling in the affected area
• Unusual changes in skin color
• Irregular hair or nail growth
• Atypical skin temperature where one side of the body is warmer or colder than the other by more than 1°C
• Abnormal sweating of the affected area
• Limited range of motion, weakness, or other motor disorders such as paralysis or dystonia
• Moderate to severe pain from something that should not cause pain, including showering or getting dressed

The unclear part of CRPS/RSD, and the reason its treatment is so important, is that the pain persists for months or years after an injury has healed.

The newer understanding of the brain’s involvement in processing pain has helped to destigmatize conditions like CRPS/RSD that have been difficult to understand. This condition can no longer be dismissed as psychological.

How Can Heimerl & Lammers Injury Law Help with a CRPS/RSD Diagnosis?

For more than 90% of people who develop CRPS/RSD, it is triggered by a trauma or injury such as a fracture, sprain, soft tissue injury, or surgery.

At Heimerl & Lammers Injury Law, our personal injury lawyers in Minnesota focus on pursuing financial recovery for our clients’ complete needs after an accident, which may include treating CRPS/RSD.

A diagnosis of CRPS/RSD may be accompanied by long-term medical treatment to help our clients deal with chronic pain that can impede their ability to work and jeopardize their quality of life.

If you have been injured in an accident of any type that was caused by another’s negligence and are suffering from ongoing, chronic pain that may be the result of CRPS/RSD, contact our skilled personal injury attorneys at Heimerl & Lammers Injury Law today by calling (612) 465-8733 or contacting us online. Even if we did not handle your initial personal injury claim, we may be able to help you identify your chronic pain as CRPS/RSD and pursue the financial compensation you need to get the treatment you deserve.