Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Causalgia and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Description: A myriad of terms has been used to describe post-noxious or traumatic pain accompanied by autonomic dysfunction and impaired extremity capacity. The most commonly used descriptors of this condition are reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) in the United States and algodystrophy in Europe. However, the use of the term complex regional pain syndrome, as proposed by the International Association for the Study of Pain in 1993, provides categorization of the condition based upon clinical features, location, and specifics of the injury without implying mechanisms, etiology, or sympathetic maintenance
Author - L. Andrew Koman, M.D. Wake Forest University School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Winston-Salem, NC 27157