Condition information
Understanding your pathway
What is complex regional pain syndrome?
Complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, is a condition involving persistent regional pain that is disproportionate to the usual course of an injury. It often affects a limb. Symptoms can involve sensation, movement and skin changes. The diagnosis needs a clinical assessment rather than being inferred from severe pain alone. [1][2]
What can contribute?
CRPS may develop after an injury or procedure, although its mechanisms are not fully understood. Pain severity does not necessarily reflect continuing damage at the original injury site. Other explanations, including infection, circulation problems or a nerve injury, must be considered before the diagnosis and treatment plan are settled. [1][3][4]
Common presentations and symptoms
Symptoms can include marked sensitivity to touch, swelling, temperature or colour differences, sweating changes and difficulty moving the affected limb. These features may fluctuate. Their timing and distribution are important, so describing changes over time can be useful when the signs are less obvious on the day of assessment. [1][3][4]
Assessment and diagnosis
The clinician looks for a combination of symptoms and examination signs and considers alternative diagnoses. There is no single scan that establishes CRPS in every case. Prompt assessment is useful when pain and limb changes are limiting function, because a coordinated rehabilitation plan can then be considered early. [1][3][4]
Management options
Education, physical rehabilitation, pain management and psychological support are central parts of care. Rehabilitation is adapted to tolerance and aims to rebuild use of the limb. Sympathetic blocks or neuromodulation may be discussed in selected cases, with uncertainty made explicit; neither a positive block nor a CRPS label guarantees procedural benefit. [1][3][4][5]
When should I seek urgent care?
A new hot, swollen limb with fever, a cold or pale limb, rapidly increasing swelling or sudden loss of movement needs urgent assessment for other causes. Call 000 for associated chest pain, breathlessness or collapse. Do not assume that a new severe change is automatically part of CRPS. [1][3][4]
Multidisciplinary care and self-management
Persistent pain can affect more than one part of life. Physiotherapy, psychological support and medical care may be combined according to your needs. Psychological care addresses the effects of pain and ways of coping; it does not imply that pain is imagined. Discuss an activity plan you can sustain rather than alternating between doing too much and stopping completely. [5][2]
Preparing for your consultation
Bring a current medicine list, relevant scan reports and details of treatments you have tried. Describe what each treatment changed, any adverse effects and the activities you most want to regain. You may wish to bring a support person. Ask what the assessment can clarify, what remains uncertain and which decisions can reasonably wait.
Follow-up and questions to ask
Agree how progress will be judged: for example, walking tolerance, sleep, work participation or confidence with a daily task. Ask when to review the plan and what changes should prompt earlier contact. Discuss potential benefits, limitations, costs and alternatives before starting treatment. If a plan is not helping, review its purpose instead of assuming that more of the same treatment is always needed. [4]
Sources and further reading
Sources support the statements cited above. Overseas guidance may describe different services or eligibility rules. A procedure leaflet explains a technique and its risks; it does not establish that the treatment is effective for every condition.
- Complex regional pain syndrome — NHS
- Chronic pain — Healthdirect Australia
- Leg pain — Healthdirect Australia
- Procedures in pain medicine clinical care standard — Faculty of Pain Medicine, ANZCA
- Options for chronic pain management — Healthdirect Australia