If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident and are suffering from chronic pain which is affecting your quality of life, you may have a serious medical condition known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). Having a complete understanding of the telltale signs and symptoms of this debilitating condition and how it is diagnosed can help you in getting the best possible medical treatment as well as fair compensation for your injuries. If you have been diagnosed with RSD due to the negligence, carelessness, or recklessness of another person, talk to a personal injury attorney to know your legal rights.
What is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy, currently known as type 1 complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS 1), is a neurological disorder characterized by chronic pain, swelling, and nerve dysfunction of an extremity. Typically, the pain is localized in one of the arms, legs, hands or feet but it can also occur in different body areas at different times. The exact cause of RSD is unknown, but is believed that this condition can be triggered by high impact collision injuries such as car accident, slips and falls, workplace accidents, or even surgery or incidents of malpractice. Researchers believe that this type of injuries causes irritation or unusual excitation of the nervous tissue, which ultimately leads to abnormal impulses in the nervous system. These abnormal impulses impair the brain’s function and cause the body to overreact to an injury that is not actually there.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?
The signs and symptoms of RSD are believed to occur in the following stages:
- Acute Stage
This stage lasts from one to three months from onset and is characterized by warmth or coolness, increased sensitivity to touch, changes in skin color, burning pain, swelling, muscle spasms, joint stiffness, and tenderness.
- Dystrophic Stage
This stage lasts from three to six months from onset. At this stage, you can experience intensification of the pain, swelling and discoloration of the affected limb, decreased hair growth and muscle tone, joint stiffness, rigid and brittle nails, short-term memory loss, inability to concentrate and speech problems.
- Atrophic Stage
This stage can last an indeterminable amount of time and has similar symptoms with that of acute and dystrophic stage. During atrophic stage, tissue damage becomes more prominent. In addition to this, the skin becomes thin, cool and shiny. You can also experience loss of limb sensation and reduced bone mineral density leading to weaker bones.
How to Diagnose RSD?
There is no specific diagnostic test to determine if you are suffering from RSD. Usually, in case of car accidents, your personal injury attorney will work with a highly trained medical professional to check whether you are displaying signs and symptoms of RSD. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, your physician will conduct the following tests to check the presence of a nerve injury:
- Thermography
This test involves measuring the heat coming from the body to locate abnormal function.
- Radiography
This test involves various imaging methods such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scan.
- Electrodiagnostic testing
This test comprises electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS), which are among the most reliable methods of detecting the cause of back or neck pain, numbness and strength loss in the affected body part.
In most cases, car accident victims may not immediately feel the full extent of pain from a neurological disorder such as RSD because the adrenaline from the accident can mask some of the pain. The effects of the nerve injury can develop several days, weeks, or even months later after the accident. Because of this, a highly experienced personal injury attorney will advise their clients to request for more specific diagnostic tests from their doctor to confirm the presence of a nerve injury to strengthen their personal injury claim.
What are the Treatments for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy?
Currently, there is no known cure for RSD. However, your doctor may prescribe the following to help improve RSD symptoms as well as quality of life:
- Internal drug pumps (implantation of pump to directly deliver pain medicine inside the body)
- Medications (e.g. oral pain killers or anti-inflammatory drugs)
- Physical therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Spinal cord stimulation (use of mild electric current to stimulate spinal nerves)
- Surgery
- Sympathetic nerve block (injection of numbing medicine around the nerves)
What are the Legal Remedies for RSD Sufferers?
If you were diagnosed with RSD/CRPS after a car accident, consult immediately with an experienced personal injury attorney to help you seek compensation for your injuries if the other driver was at fault.
