An Effective Healing Regimen for a Tough Chronic Pain Condition: RSD/CRPS
Sometimes healing a painful, chronic condition can become your day job, but if it works, it's well worth it. Hats off to this inspired sufferer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (used to be called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or RSD), who has cobbled together a mix of standard and integrative techniques to remediate this difficult condition.
We found this post on Facebook, because BR was tagged – one of the interventions was guided imagery for pain.
This syndrome is characterized by severe burning pain, usually in one of the extremities (in this case, the hand), with sensitivity to touch, changes in skin temperature, blotchiness, sweatiness, swelling, stiffness and decreased mobility. It exasperatingly affects the nerves, skin, muscles, blood vessels and bones, all at the same time. Sometimes it's from nerve damage from an injury, but not always - sometimes the cause is unknown.
So here it is: one heck of a thorough, if time consuming, regimen:
Stardate log -Feb 8, Healing Journey to put RSD/CRPS into remission. This is for my healer friends and anyone else who is interested..... Lots of holistic/integrative approaches to learn about! Enjoy!
I can make a fist tonight! (with effort) and can now see the tendons on the back of my hand as the swelling subsides. Other side is still turning strange colors, but not as bad!
Key word: PERSEVERANCE
Yesterday - Chi Gong - energy is flowing out both hands equally! Aqua therapy that I made up myself for the pool, plus laser therapy.
Today -
7 a.m/ Occupational Therapy, cranked it hard.
Fun therapy- played with little grandkids to increase endorphins, my feel good neurotransmitters.
Chiropractic to deal with the other injured areas: neck - shoulder- and my hand/fingers. Able to hold things better. Quieting pain in other areas to stop the triggering in my wrist. All connected in the pain cycle.
E-M Wave machine for heart rate variability to relax deeply - 30 minutes of regulated breathing to decrease stress load and pain. (www.HeartMath.com)
Nurse practitioner for other anti-inflammatory suggestions. Starting curcumin, doubling naproxyn to prescription dose, to get the swelling down and relieve the pressure on the finger nerves.
Aqua therapy - raised my heart rate while doing my hand exercises to increase blood flow and had better function. Also used Mirror technique without the mirror- just worked both hands and stared at the healthy one to get mirror image. Supposed to break the pain cycle and fool the brain to increase function- worked!
Tuning fork therapy to hand. (acutonics) Thought is that acupuncture will further traumatize it. Tuning forks can stimulate the chi points without needles to get the energy flowing along the nerve pathways.
Laser therapy.
Magnesium Lotion, at the recommendation of Norm Shealy MD who invented the TENS unit. Came in mail today.
Guided Imagery "Ease Pain" by Belleruth Naparstek (www.healthjourneys.com) - also came in mail tonight. Helped break pain cycle.
Heat pack to shoulder.
And- of course - I do Healing Touch on it every day, several times a day and receive sessions when I can.
Almost a full time job but it is working!
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