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MediFocus Guides Help Answer Key Questions about Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy:
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What are the standard treatments for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?
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What are your treatment options?
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Are there any promising new and effective treatments on the horizon?
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Where can you find the doctors, hospitals, and medical centers with specialized interest and expertise in Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?
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Which organizations and support groups can help you cope more effectively with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?
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Medifocus Guidebook:
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Updated: February 26, 2008
- Comprehensive overview of
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- Explore your treatment options
- Learn about new developments
- Read medical journal abstracts
- Find doctors, hospitals, research centers
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Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a complex, poorly understood disorder that is characterized by chronic, severe pain and progressive changes in skin, muscle, and bone. Although the precise causes of RSD are unknown, it often occurs following an injury, often minor in nature. Some experts believe that RSD represents an exaggerated response of the sympathetic nervous system to some form of injury or insult (eg. surgery) to the area resulting in chronic, severe, sometimes debilitating pain. Although the signs and symptoms of RSD vary depending upon the clinical stage of the disorder, the one common feature shared by all 3 clinical stages (early, established, or late RSD) is pain.
Because currently there is no cure for RSD, the goals of treatment include: 1) controlling and minimizing pain to the greatest extent possible; 2) restoring function to the RSD-affected limb; 3) preventing progression of the disease process to the late stage; and 4) improving the patient's quality of life and psycholocial functioning.
The MediFocus Guidebook on Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy will inform you about the signs and symptoms of RSD, the treatment options including drug therapy, sympathetic nerve blocks, chemical and surgical sympathectomy, physical therapy, and other methods used for controlling pain and improving quality of life. You will also learn about new, experimental treatments that are currently under investigation that may be effective for the management of RSD.
You will also learn about the doctors, hospitals, and medical centers that are at the leading edge in conducting clinical research about RSD. A list of important questions to ask your doctor, and a valuable directory of resources, organizations, and support groups that can help patients with RSD are included in this Guidebook.
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