Category Archives: CRPS Budapest Criteria

22Jun/17
CRPS UK

Delighted to be a trustee for CRPS UK

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delighted to be a trustee for CRPS UK

CRPS UK ~ a charity supporting people suffering Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and their carers

I am delighted to be a trustee for CRPS UK. In recent years I have spoken at the conferences and this year was invited to run the 2017 London Marathon for the charity.

CRPS is an example of a condition that can be excruciatingly painful. The Budapest Criteria lays out the necessary signs and symptoms, which is important in terms of a diagnosis and for research.

There are several issues that need urgent addressing and I will help CRPS with their endeavours.

As with other painful conditions, the first problem lies with the misunderstanding of pain. The predominant model remains biomedical, however this approach does not offer answers for persistent or chronic pain. The biomedical model relies on finding a pathology or structural basis to explain the pain. Pain is poorly related to tissue state because it is part of the way that the body protects itself. We have known this for many years, the famous lecture and paper being published in 1979.

“society does not understand pain despite it being the largest global health burden

Early diagnosis is important for CRPS as it guides treatment and prevents unnecessary suffering. This means that CRPS needs to be recognised by healthcare professionals. A common scenario is an incident resulting in the development of the condition, which is not recognised, thereby treated inefficiently, the symptoms worsen and so the cycle goes on. An important note is that poor treatment outcomes and low expectations affect the outcomes. However, the third point is that pain can and does change.

The predominant messages in society (and healthcare) are negative and suggest that the person has to merely cope or manage their pain. With the bar set so low and teeing up the person’s expectations at such a meagre height, no wonder there is minimal improvement. Why would you bother? This is all wrong and certainly not in line with what we really know about pain and people.

We have remarkable potential and need to know how to tap into it. What is getting in the way of recovery and getting better? What are the barriers to living? In exploring these by using our own amazing resources, we can achieve success and change. We are designed to change; you cannot not change! It is a matter of choosing a direction.

“what do you want in life? How does it look?

My Pain Coach Programme stemmed from understanding and believing in people’s ability to change, their resourcefulness (that they may not know they have because of negative messages to self and from others) and the latest pain sciences.

delighted to be a trustee for CRPS UK

Richmond Stace

Who am I?

For those who don’t know me and who are wondering why I have been asked to be a trustee for CRPS UK, here is a brief background. I am a physiotherapist with a background in pain neuroscience, rehabilitation and nursing. For many years I have worked with people suffering chronic and complex pain, giving them the understanding of pain that they can use to get better. In 2015 together with Georgie Standage, who came to see me with CRPS, we created UP | understand pain. Starting as an awareness campaign, UP was launched with a huge singing event.

delighted to be a trustee for CRPS UK

UP is now focusing on delivering the right messages about pain via the new website due to be available as a resource this year, and workshops for people who need to understand pain: sufferers, their families, clinicians, policymakers, patient representative group and other stakeholders.

I am very excited to be working with the team at CRPS UK, driving forward to change the way that the condition is recognised and treated. At the outset, people need to understand pain and know their role in getting better and their potential. Setting the scene from the beginning is vital and then using the right approaches so that the person can overcome their pain and live a meaningful life.

RS

 

 

30Jan/17

CRPS Diagnosis

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CRPS Diagnosis

CRPSComplex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a collection of signs and symptoms that define this particular condition. A syndrome according to the Oxford Dictionaries, is a ‘group of symptoms which consistently occur together, or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms’. Therefore, we can clump together any set of symptoms and give it a name, which is really what has happened over the years in medicine. The important point is that when we use the term, we should all know what we are talking about and know what we should look for to make a diagnosis. In other words, a set of guidelines.

The Budapest Criteria delivers guidelines for CRPS, which you can read about in this paper by Harden et al. (2013). The clinical criteria (see below) acknowledge the sensory, vasomotor, sudomotor/oedema and motor/trophic categories that really highlight the complexity of CRPS. Pain is often the primary concern, with people describing their incredible suffering in a range of graphic ways. However, it is not just the pain that causes suffering but the way in which the life of the person changes together with their sense of who they are and their sense of agency seemingly lost. One of the roles of the clinician is certainly to help restore that sense of who I am, a construct that is built from many of life’s ‘components’.

Budapest Criteria

1. Continuing pain, which is disproportionate to any inciting event

2. Must report at least one symptom in three of the four following categories

  • Sensory: Reports of hyperalgesia and/or allodynia
  • Vasomotor: Reports of temperature asymmetry and/or skin color changes and/or skin color asymmetry
  • Sudomotor/Edema: Reports of edema and/or sweating changes and/or sweating asymmetry
  • Motor/Trophic: Reports of decreased range of motion and/or motor dysfunction (weakness, tremor, dystonia) and/or trophic changes (hair, nail, skin)

3. Must display at least one sign at time of evaluation in two or more of the following categories

  • Sensory: Evidence of hyperalgesia (to pinprick) and/or allodynia (to light touch and/or deep somatic pressure and/or joint movement)
  • Vasomotor: Evidence of temperature asymmetry and/or skin color changes and/or asymmetry
  • Sudomotor/Edema: Evidence of edema and/or sweating changes and/or sweating asymmetry
  • Motor/Trophic: Evidence of decreased range of motion and/or motor dysfunction (weakness, tremor, dystonia) and/or trophic changes (hair, nail, skin)

4. There is no other diagnosis that better explains the signs and symptoms

Importance of diagnosis

A diagnosis made in the same way, based on the same criteria means that clinicians, researchers and patients alike are all discussing the same condition. This may seem pedantic but in fact it is vital for creating a way forward. Clinicians mus know what they are treating, patients must know what they are being treated for and researchers must know what they are researching. Sounds obvious but let’s not take it for granted. So the Budapest Criteria has pointed all those with an interest in the same direction. Consequently we can focus on creating better and better treatments.

As with any painful condition, the start point must be understanding the pain itself. The following questions arise that we must be try to answer:

  • why am I in pain?
  • why this much pain?
  • why is it persisting?
  • what influences my pain?
  • what do I, the bearer of the pain, need to do to get better?
  • what will you do, the clinician or therapist, to help me get better?
  • how long will it take?

New thinking, new science, new models of pain over the past 10 years has advanced our knowledge enormously. Understanding how we change, how our body systems update, how we can make choices as individuals, and the practices we can use to change our pain experience to name but a few, create great hope as we tap into our amazing strengths and resources as human beings. Detailing the treatment approaches is for another series of blogs, but here the key point is that the first step in overcoming pain is to understand it. It is the misunderstanding of pain that causes erroneous thinking and action, which we can and must address across society — pain is a public health issue. Chronic pain is one of the largest global health burdens (Vos et al. 2012). It costs us the most alongside depression, and I believe that this need not be the case if and when we change how we think about pain, based on current and emerging knowledge.

“The first step to overcoming pain is to understand it”

upandrunThis is the reason for UP | understand pain, which we started in 2015 with the aim of changing the way people think and then approach their pain, realising their potential and knowing what they can do. We are about to launch the new website that is packed with practical information for the globe to access online. Alongside this we have plans to create a social enterprise that will purport the same messages, coming from the great thinkers and clinicians who are shaping a new era in changing pain.

In April I will be running the London Marathon to raise awareness of the work of both UP and CRPS UK. You can support the work that both are doing to change pain by donating here

Thank you!

 

24Jan/17

Supporting CRPS UK Charity

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Supporting CRPS UK Charity

In April I am running the London Marathon supporting CRPS UK Charity and UP. The aim is to raise awareness of the work being done to change the problem of pain and to raise money to support this work. I will be writing blogs about CRPS, pain, CRPS UK and UP, as well as posting links to important research over the next few months in the build up to the run.

You can support me by clicking here

What is CRPS? Complex Regional Pain Syndrome ~ For a simple guide, click here

From CRPS UK:

CRPS UK is a registered charity focused on helping people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) to live the best lives they can. The charity was set up by four people who have CRPS to provide a support system to others with the condition. We aim to do this by providing a supportive environment in which people can find out about CRPS and get in touch with a community of people who know what they are going through via our very active closed Facebook group. This serves to allow people to speak with confidence and privacy about any concerns they may have, thus supplying a huge support network. We have already held successful conferences and regional meet ups. For many this is the first time they have met anyone else with the condition. These social opportunities help to break down the isolation often experienced with a chronic health condition.

Specialist treatment can be the key to lessening the impact of CRPS and helping people with CRPS to live rich and fulfilling lives. We are working with specialist treatment centres to provide a grant scheme for patients with CRPS who are experiencing financial difficulty, to help them to afford travel expenses to and from hospital. This will ensure that they can access the treatment they need. Currently this is only for travel costs for those receiving treatment at the RNHRD/RUH in Bath, but we aim to roll this out in the future to other units specialising in CRPS.

Going forward we also aim to improve diagnosis and treatment of CRPS. We will be promoting awareness and education about CRPS in healthcare professions, which should lead to more patients receiving timely diagnosis and intervention. This will be through the production of healthcare leaflets and presentations via direct contact.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a rare neurological disorder, which causes chronic pain that cannot be controlled and can affect all areas of the body but most commonly occurs in the limbs. It is a debilitating and disabling inflammatory condition that can be caused by minor injury (sprain), broken/fractured bones, surgery or can appear spontaneously without known cause.

CRPS is believed to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems where the signals between the affected limb or body part and the brain are misinterpreted resulting in the following:

  • “burning” pain.
  • hypersensitivity of the skin.
  • changes in skin temperature: warmer or cooler compared to the opposite extremity.
  • changes in skin colour: often blotchy, purple, pale, or red.
  • changes in skin texture: shiny and thin, and sometimes excessively sweaty.
  • changes in nail and hair growth patterns.
  • swelling and stiffness in affected joints.
  • motor disability, with decreased ability to move the affected body part

CRPS can strike anyone at any age and affects both men and women, but statistics show it is more common in women.

Very little is known or understood about CRPS and there is no cure.

For further information, you can contact CRPS UK here

15May/16

Simple guide to CRPS

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CRPSMany people have not heard of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and many who have heard of CRPS do not understand the nature of the condition, so here is a simple guide to CRPS.

— What is CRPS? Types of CRPS and common confusions:

  • C – complex: CRPS is a complex condition in that it involves many body systems and a range of signs and symptoms must be present for the diagnosis (Budapest Criteria — see here).
  • R – regional: CRPS emerges in a region of the body, most commonly affecting a hand or a foot.
  • P – pain: CRPS is typically very painful — things that would normally hurt really hurt, and things that don’t normally hurt now also hurt. The pain can often be excruciating and incredibly disabling.
  • S – syndrome: a syndrome is simply a collection of signs and symptoms

There are two types of CRPS, Type 1 and Type 2:

  • Type 1 – CRPS evolves from an injury such as a sprain or a fracture. Sometimes the injury is innocuous with the resulting symptoms of CRPS being an over-response, especially the pain that is out of proportion to the injury.
  • Type 2 – CRPS evolves from a nerve injury

Common confusions

The pain

The pain of CRPS is vastly out of proportion to the seen injury. Pain does not have a reliable or direct relationship with pain in any circumstance; pain is simply not an accurate indicator of tissue damage. Believing that more pain equates to more damage results in wrong thinking and wrong management. People describe the pain of CRPS in many ways.

Pain is often the main focus and reason why the person seeks help. Drugs are frequently viewed as the way to control and ease pain and indeed medication can and does have a role. However, there are many other ways to change pain, including a range of strategies and techniques that steer the person back to meaningful living.

Pain is an ultimate example of a conscious experience that grabs our attention and compels action. Pain is all about protection and is related to the level of perceived threat. In CRPS there is a high threat value associated with the region being protected, both in terms of our biology in the dark and the way we think about the pain and problem; i.e./ we raise the threat value by the way we think about our pain and the meaning we give to the pain, which is why understanding the problem and knowing you can change it is the vital start point.

Pain is complex and involves all the body systems that detect possible threat and then protect us: nervous system, immune system, endocrine system, sensorimotor system, autonomic nervous system (fright or flight). Consider the way in which CRPS presents and you will begin to see how these systems are all playing a role. There is no pain system or pain signals. Pain is about perceived threat: reduce the threat by thinking in the right way and taking healthy action, and the pain changes.

How it looks

Of course you cannot see pain but you can see when the region is inflamed — red, swollen, shiny etc. Inflammation plays a significant role in CRPS as in some people there is an over-inflammatory response to injury. Inflammation is normal but the volume is pumped up in some people, perhaps due to genetics but it can also be due to prior learning. The body systems that protect us have learned earlier in life to respond in a particular way and each time we need them to work, the do but with a bit more volume. Some call this kindling or priming. Examples of prior and existing conditions include: previous injury in the area and the sensitivity has persisted, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic pain, migraine. A further consideration is the state of the person and the context of the injury. A traumatic injury, such as a car accident, can trigger over-responses as can a more straight forward injury occurring at a time of stress or anxiety. Understanding the person and knowing their complete story is key to gathering insight into what has happened and how it has happened.

How it feels

The affected region commonly feels different. It can feel alien, like it is not attached, not part of self, look different to how it feels. This can be strange and worrying but is characteristic of CRPS (and many other painful problems). It is due to a change in the sense of the body that is in part created by representational maps in the brain. We have many of these representations that allow us to perform tasks every day — imagining what we will have for dinner, thinking about how we will take the penalty or mow the lawn for example. However, when we have pain and move differently, i.e. we are protecting ourselves, the maps change thereby giving us a different ‘sense of self’. People don’t usually volunteer this information for fear of disbelief, however it is such an important part of identifying the problem and deciding upon the approach needed to overcome CRPS. Envisioning a normal sense of self is important before deciding on the right course of action: the aim is to feel oneself again after all.

Summary

CRPS arises within a circumstance, often an injury (but this can be minor), but the context in which the injury is embedded and prior experience determine how our biology in the dark responds. Pain is in the face of perceived threat hence the need to reduce threat to change the pain. We do this in a range of ways begining with understanding and thinking the right way before taking action (a coaching, treatment & training programme) to overcome the problem in as much as the person feels themselves and leads a meaningful life.

** If you think you have CRPS or have any concerns, you should always seek the advice of a healthcare professional who understands your condition.

Pain Coach Programme for CRPS and persisting pain | t. 07518 445493

 

12Aug/15

I’ve been diagnosed with CRPS

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Budapest | Moyan Brenn http://bit.ly/1EnHXWp

Budapest | Moyan Brenn http://bit.ly/1EnHXWp

I’ve been diagnosed with CRPS. This is a common way that the conversation begins with people who contact me, often scared witless by what they have found out online or by what they have been told. Others are confused and do not really understand what CRPS means, except they know it hurts like hell and has turned their life upside down.

Before reading any further, have a look at this link that outlines the latest criteria named after the place where it was recently established: The Budapest Criteria 

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also known as RSD (the old term — reflex sympathetic dystrophy), like any ‘syndrome’ is a collection of signs and symptoms that are gathered together and given a name. However, CRPS is complex (biologically), it is regional (usually affecting a limb), it is painful (one of the worst), and as I said, a syndrome. There you have it, CRPS.

Many people like to have a diagnosis, a label and a peg on which they can hang their hat. A diagnosis is useful if everyone then understands the implications and the treatment is standardised thereafter with effect. This is not the case with CRPS as few really seem to understand the condition.

Depending on where you go, you will be in receipt of treatment that varies according to the profession you see. Medically you are often offered drugs and interventions that can work to relieve some of the symptoms. As with any pain though, despite relief that everyone hopes for, drugs do not teach you how to restore normal living. For this you need to work with someone who understands the complexity of pain and CRPS and who can guide you to think in the right way so that you focus upon the right actions to move forward.

Here are some tips:

1. Read the classification and ensure that you are indeed suffering CRPS (there is type 1 and 2, which differentiate those with the condition from a non-nerve injury and a nerve injury that trigger the complex and painful responses)

2. Work with someone who genuinely understands CRPS, can educate, guide and motivate you through a comprehensive programme — that person must also know that pain can and does change!

3. Understand that medication has a role but you have a bigger role. There in only one person who can transform pain, and that is you. You just need to know how.

4. Do not nurture fear by reading about other’s difficulties online. We all suffer fear, anger and other negative emotions, but they are not helpful if they persist. You can learn the skill of deciding how to think, perceive and act using the strengths that you already possess in overcoming your pain.

5. You are NOT complex regional pain syndrome. Do not let this or any other conditions define you. You are ________ ________ (fill your name here) who is a son, brother, wife, husband, father, mother, employee, sport lover, art critic….again, fill in yourself and remember it.

6. Focus on what you can do; focus on your strengths and focus on overcoming the pain and CRPS.

The Pain Coach Programme focuses on your strengths that you will use to overcome your pain, including resilience, motivation, empathy, compassion, concentration and many others. Developing and growing your inner drive, you will learn skills and develop your knowledge so that you in effect become your own coach moment-to-moment, choosing to take each opportunity to transform and change pain on your return to a meaningful life.

t. 07518 445493

01Jul/13

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome | Diagnosis using the Budapest Criteria

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The Budapest Criteria should now be used to diagnose Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS):

A: The patient has continuing pain which is disproportionate to the inciting event

B: The patient has at least one sign in two or more of the categories

C: The patient reports at least one symptom in three or more of the categories

D: No other diagnosis can better explain the signs and symptoms

Sensory: Allodynia (to light touch and/or temperature sensation and/or deep somatic pressure and/or joint movement) and/or hyperalgesia (to pinprick)

Vasomotor: Temperature asymmetry (more than 1 deg.) and/or skin colour changes and/or skin colour asymmetry

Sudomotor/oedema: Oedema and/or sweating changes and/or sweating asymmetry

Motor/trophic: Decreased range of motion and/or motor dysfunction (weakness, tremor, dystonia) and/or trophic changes (hair/nail/skin)

Signs – see or feel a problem

Symptoms – patient reports a problem

Click here for The CRPS Concise Guide on the Royal College of Physicians website

If you have been diagnosed or think that you may have CRPS, contact us for information or to book an appointment to start your specialist treatment and training programme; call 07932 689081

CRPS UK Blog for the latest research and thinking in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome