FAQ These are "Frequently Asked Questions"
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IMPORTANT
RSD Alert collates information to help you manage
your condition but we have no medically qualified personnel. You need
to keep in touch with your own medical advisor.
FAQ
Am I going mad? My doctor
tells me the RSD is in my head
I am quite sure that your pain is
not in your head. If you feel it in your hand/foot/shoulder or wherever,
that's where it is! Don't be discouraged because people don't understand
you. It is likely that your original injury is completely healed,
and it may be confusing to your physician when you still say you
are in pain. But that's not what RSD is about. It doesn't make sense
for the nerves to be reacting so long after their healing job is
over but, sense or not, those of us who have RSD know that it is
real.
There is some confusion about 'where' pain is felt. RSD pain
is particularly confusing, because the distribution of the pain
bears little relation to the location of nerves in the original
injury site. No single nerve covers the whole hand, for instance,
but a person with RSD following a minor hand injury will feel
the pain in a 'glove-like' distribution covering the entire hand.
Of course, the root of the pain is more central - either in the
central nervous system or in the brain itself. That truth leads
some people to jump to a negative conclusion that 'in your head'
means imaginary. But where is a headache located? And does that
instance of 'in your head' mean the headache is not real?
The truth is that science has a long way to go in explaining
pain of any kind, and the particular issues of RSD/CRPS present
an extreme case that defies traditional definitions. A well-documented
oddity of pain is that people don't feel pain when they are in
the middle of a current emergency. President Reagan, for instance,
did not feel the pain when he was shot in the chest in Washington
until he was well on his way to hospital. His head over-ruled
the pain pathways and kept his brain free to respond to the emergency
of an attempted assassination. If his head stopped him feeling
the pain, then later allowed the pain to hit him full-force, does
that mean his pain was in his head? Of course not.
Anyone who wants to learn more about current understanding of
the nature and complexity of pain, including chronic pain, may
be interested in our book review
on Professor Wall's paperback "Pain - the Science of Suffering".
It's not specifically about RSD, but gives clear answers to people
who are make the hurtful comment that "it's all in your head".
Derrick Phillips - RSD Alert editor
www.rsdalert.co.uk
for correspondence click CONTACT
