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
Will the pain ever go
away?
RSD is nerve activity that is out
of context with the actual condition of the areas where you feel
pain. The nerves are firing spontaneously and the reasons for that
have not yet been properly explained. "Normal" pain has
the valuable benefit that we respond by not using the affected part
and giving it a chance to heal. RSD pain is a false alarm and tells
us nothing about the affected area. In fact it tempts us to stop
using that limb, which can make it seize up or even lose bone density.
There can be no guarantee that the pin will ever go away - but that
is not the end of the story…
Several of the stories on RSD Alert demonstrate that patients
can experience remission and become free of pain. For young people
(especially children) the "remission" often proves so
lasting that it may even deserve to be called a "cure".
The pain may go away, but it is sensible to rethink the question
and seek another priority than just pain relief.
Because this pain is, in a sense, meaningless it is wise to change
your focus to recovering mobility. After taking the best medical
advice to ensure that there really is no remaining injury, do
all you can to recover the use of the limb(s). A painful limb
that works is better than a painful limb that doesn't work - and
sometimes the recovery of movement can be accompanied by a reduction
in pain. This strategy works best in the early stages, but some
people have been able to achieve remission after 2 or 3 years.
It is certainly true that a neglected limb is more likely to remain
painful than one that is retrained to become active.
Derrick Phillips - Editor, RSD Alert
www.rsdalert.co.uk
for correspondence click CONTACT
