Good morning. Just found this forum on advice of hosp doctor.
Looks so useful and full of useful friendly advice.
I have crps in my right wrist and right foot and toes. Been 9 years since problem with wrist after an accident at work and the operation to correct this gave me crps. Then after another operation to get a bad bunion done and two knuckles taken out. 6 months ago It's now given me crps in my foot especially my toes. I'm on strong medication gabapentin. Paracetamol. Lidocaine patches. Looking to see what other folk are finding useful yo help with the pain. Not good to always be in pain as you know already
Any suggestions
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Brunobilbo
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What is crps? It is a diagnosis given to match a set of symptoms so that you can get a regime of treatment given by a medical consultant or doctor. What is the cause?
It says: "The cause of CRPS is unknown, but it's generally thought to be the result of the body reacting abnormally to an injury." This is the traditional medical profession answer. You have been given strong meditation for this.
The complementary have been treating CRPS for a long time with some success. The medical profession has often regarded the complementary answer to things as anecdotal or the patient would have recovered anyway.
The first international conference on fascia was in 2007 at Harvard Medical school. A good book to read is "Fascia: What it is and Why it Matters" by David Lesondak.
I have the experience of breaking my wrist and having the pain of crps or fibromyalgia. It took six months of work to get rid of the problem and even then I had to have the help of a McTimony chiropractor to deal with some of the issues.
The medical profession know very little how muscles work. You are going to need to do your own investigation and network with people who know a good sports therapist. You also need to see a McTimony chiropractor.
Fascai is not my area of knowledge. Muscle behaviour is. Muscles have nerve inputs which tell them to contract. They have no inputs to tell them to uncontract. Other muscles and springiness of other tissues enable the uncontraction. Fascia layers can get stuck and need to be unstuck. I know from personal experience that to unstick fascai and uncontract over contracted muscle is a painful experience and it can take weeks of work before the pain in moving disappears.
Fascia has thousands of nerve endings which fed into the brain.
I cannot give advice as what you need to do because someone with experience of getting things moving again has to look at it. There are exercises that need to be done. They are painful. However, once the fascia can slide freely again and the muscles are uncontracted the pain no longer exists.
Not as helpful as I would like because someone has to look at the state of your limbs to decide the best course of action.
Yes thankyou for you kind reply. I'll read the book you suggested. I agree with you the medical profession don't understand this condition. Although one of my doctors practices emmetts therapy. This does help it works I understand what you mean by muscles having to work properly. Sliding etc.
If there is any more advice you can give me would appreciate it. As been in pain now for so long.
Thanks for your help will now see who has this book and will buy asap.
Had a look at emmetts therapy. You say: " This does help it works". Can you tell me a bit more about how it works for you. I am wondering if you can do some home tweaking. Need some information before suggest tweaking adaptation.
Ill try and give a good explanation of what happens with this therapy. But also Google Emmetts therapy on Google. This will give you the facts. But for me I went into my doctors surgery and I could not touch the floor with my toes. I lay down on the table and the doctor giving me the therapy very lightly touched my foot and leg and now and again pulled my muscles in opposite directions. All very light through your clothes. Where my surgery was on my foot it felt like she was sliding my muscles in different directions. Did not hurt at all. I got off the table and walked. Unbelievable. The only thing is it's only lasted 2 months. But I was in alot of pain. But not a problem I'm told to go back to see her. It's that good I've been to see her with a frozen shoulder caused by dragging myself up the stairs using the pole. This didn't work straight away. But it was again very light pressure with her fingers and seemed to rub and then gently pull In opposite directions. She did say it would take more sessions but this she was happy to arrange. The only way I can think how this works is that Emmetts therapist must know every bone and nerve in your body. And knows which way to stretch or pull gently. If you can get this at your doctors it's amazing it's like a miracle. I've tried to copy what she did especially on my foot but just don't have the nack of doing it.
My husband had also had this therapy and it's helped loads. Look on Google it will give more info but it's indescribable the relief it can give you.
You now have half a solution. Get your husband to work on you and you work on him.
You work with gravity. Practice lifting a cup or jug of water. Observe and feel where gravity wants to take the cup/jug and use as little muscular effort as possible. Less is better.
Keep your finger un-tight and light and apply pressure from the hips into the arms. Note do not bend the back. Work on your husbands foot the way you think the therapist worked on yours. Get your husband to repeat the experience on yourself. The movements need to be slow. Fast movements cause a threatening body reflex which tightens things.
There are spinal reflexes from feet into hands, from legs into arms. So this should have a little effect on the right wrist. Then get your husband to work on the wrist. The movements need to come from the hips. Your use fingers to guide and you must avoid finger tightening.
You can always see the spec of dust in someone else's eye and never the plank in your own. This is why you can work on someone else but cannot work on yourself in regard to touch type therapy.
Hope I have been descriptive enough to be useful. Let me know how you get on.
I couldn't do it on myself but never occurred to me to get husband to copy it. I'll try and remember exactly what she did and see if we can copy it. Its worth a go.
Just letting people know where to get the book from called fascia what it is and why it matters by David lesondak. It's available on Amazon at £17.69.
I've ordered this thanks for this tip.
I have crps too… used to be called RSD I believe. Anyhoo.. acupuncture and medical marijuana helps me with it. Doesn't take it away but gives ya some relief. Welcome newbie!
Wish I could help ya more but if I exercised Id probably blow away in the wind...lol Im a medical mess and this is just one of my many medical issues. Wish u the best in finding some help.
I also have crps in my foot, also ankle and lower leg. We all react differently to medications. Gabapentin didn't work for me, but nortriptyline helps a lot.
I went on a chronic pain course in Oxford which was very helpful and your gp can refer you to a course in your local area - it won't cure you but teach you coping mechanisms and it was good to meet other people who just understand. If you haven't seen a pain specialist ask your gp for a referral but I suspect you have already done this to have a diagnosis.
Another tip that helped me a lot with the desensitization was gently massaging in body lotion (any gentle cream or lotion will do e.g. baby lotion) to the parts that you don't like anything touching, try to do it every half an hour during the day or evening for a week or two to see if it helps you. After a couple of weeks I found my foot wasn't quite so sensitive to touch and it was worth the initial discomfort.
Also general advice is not to apply ice however hot it feels as this tends to make it worse.
If you are on Facebook (I don't do social media much), but there is a group on there that are very knowledgeable about crps called burning nights. I bought some leaflets from them to give to family members which explain a little about the condition because very few people have heard of it.
Hello. Thanks for your tips. Pain to sore at the moment to rub in cream on my feet especially my toes. But I have tried the spray cream on my toes. But found just spraying it onto them felt awful and painful. I had to wait for it to absorb. But on my hand I can bear it. Will just have to keep trying on my feet. I've got to get used to touching my toes again as since surgery on them and the pins that were put in them. Which have since been taken out. My nail has now come off. I'm finding it hard to even look at them never mind touch.
But I have to I'm just very aware of how they hurt. But will try again as you have to.
I'm going yo physio as soon as my appointment comes through. I've asked the doctor to make sure the therapist is aware of crps. And how it should be managed. It's amazing how many are not aware of this horrible pain and don't understand that you cannot just touch your skin and stretch and move. As I'm sure your already aware it can't be done especially on an extra bad day. Take care
I've had amitriptyline but don't take it any more. It made me feel like a zombie and so sleepy. Just had a look on Google the one you take. Looks like it does the same thing. Are there any side effects taking it have you found. If it doesn't make you sleepy maybe I should ask doctor about it. If it can knock out any pain it maybe worth a go. But don't want to feel sleepy on it.
Hi Bruno, I had a bad reaction to gabapentin so the pain consultant put me on nortriptyline rather than amitriptyline as he said it had less side effects. The only effect it has on me is a dry mouth, annoying but worth it. As I said before, we all react differently and you just have to find what is best for you but try each for at least 8 weeks as it will take a while for your body to settle with anything. Good luck. Jo
I too have crps. Had a bad horse riding accideny 10yrs ago and 2foot surgeries 6/7 yrs ago. It was only after 3 yrs of agonising pain, the pain clinic finally diagnosed it as crps. I used to be on buprenorphine patches, ludocaine patches, oramorph, gabapentin/ pregabalin. But was still in agonising pain. A really nice guy from pain clinic advised me to read the american medical journal on best advice as not much research on it in uk. Came to realise no drugs will help as damage in beginning of spinal cord and not in affected limb. I came off all meds as i wanted a child and luckily it went into remission. Unfortunately after 3 failed pregnancies after my little girl its come bk with avengence.
Surprisingly once u get past 4 wks of no meds the pain does ease off. Has to be mind over matter, find somethin that u can zone out on and it helps with distracting from pain
Hello, I have crps in my lower legs (both) and have been on medication for a couple of mouths. My doctor said that eventually the pain will stop and I could come off the drugs is that true? Also when I get stressed my pain will increase is this normal as well?
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