Complex Regional Pain Syndrome course for Nurses

This session describes the types of CRPS, the criteria used for diagnosis, pathophysiology, principles of management and recent research on CRPS.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the occurrence of complex regional pain syndrome
• Recognize the physiological processes associated with the condition, the types, the clinical manifestations and the diagnostic criteria for complex regional pain syndrome
• List the interventions used to treat complex regional pain syndrome
• Explain the role of multidisciplinary teams in the management of complex regional pain syndrome

The first description of what is now known as complex regional pain syndrome was documented during the American civil war in 1864 by Silas Weir Mitchell and his colleagues as 'causalgia' from the Greek words for heat and pain (kaûs(is) + algia). They described a pattern of a post-traumatic manifestation associated with oedema, discolouration, burning pain, sensory and movement disorders.