Stress: A Chronic Pain (CRPS/RSD) Warrior’s Worst Enemy

By Guest Blogger Gabe King Gabe is back this week to blog about stress, the impact it has on CRPS/RSD and chronic pain, and how to try to manage it. While stress is an inevitable part of life, there are certainly ways to manage it. "...Chaos calls but all you really need...Is to just breathe." -Johnny Diaz, "Breathe" Stress is a normal part of everyday life. It starts as soon as you wake up: getting kids ready for school, finishing a major project for work, or preparing for a big family meal. These are normal, mostly every day, stresses of life. Often times, for the typical human being, it can be hard not to allow these stresses to get the best of…
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Understanding CRPS/RSD- As Taken from Fitness for Your Health

By Michael Sullivan, PT, MSPT This blog about understanding CRPS was originally featured on Fitness for Your Health. Learn about the pain and how they diagnosis it here. This week’s topic is one not many know too much about but it can be a very debilitating condition.  Those who suffer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), A.K.A. Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), know far too well how bad this condition is.  It is a very complex condition (hence the name), so we have asked the Director of Physical Therapy here at our clinic to explain it. Michael Sullivan earned his MSPT at Duke University in 1989.  He worked in private practice for 8 years before deciding to move to help those…
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Never Let Pain Define You- CRPS Inspiration

By Guest Blogger Gabe King Guest blogger Gabe returns this week. After his blog entitled "A Thorn in the Flesh" was well-received, he returns to write about how CRPS pain can change you, but it doesn't need to be in a negative way. "Don't let pain define you, let it refine you." -Tim Fargo With chronic pain, it can be very easy to allow it to define who you are. You can feel like just giving up and allow it to control every inch of your life, letting it decide who you can be. In all honesty, I have found myself doing the exact same thing. Because of how extensive and unpredictable our condition is, we find it extremely difficult to…
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You Want to Write About CRPS, But Don’t Know What to Say

By Special Events Coordinator, Samantha Barrett To write about CRPS is to expose a part of yourself that is vulnerable, but so important when it is shared. Members of our community have voiced an interest in writing about CRPS, but didn't know where to start. Here we go! Writer’s Block. Anxiety. Fear. Overwhelming thoughts. All of this contributes to an issue that I hear about all to often. Members of the CRPS community want to write about their experiences, both good and bad, but it can be incredibly difficult to find a starting place. How can you get past the barriers to write about your own experience, whether it’s for public viewing or for your eyes only? Finding a starting…
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A Thorn In the Flesh-A Chronic Pain Journey

By Guest Blogger Gabe King This blog was originally featured on Gabe King's blog site Treasures on the Sand. This blog was submitted to us by Mr. King with full permission to share his chronic pain journey.   For many of us with chronic pain, we can only remember suffering. It can be very hard to think of the times that were pain-free, living our lives like normal human beings. However, this is not the path Our Heavenly Father has in store for us, for He has a greater purpose at hand. Though this is the case, it can still be a difficult journey, walking through life with what the apostle Paul referred to as a "thorn in the flesh."…
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Managing RSD/CRPS As A Chronic Illness from a CRPS Warrior

By Guest Blogger Emily S. Nunez Emily has been living with CRPS/RSD and learning how to best manage it. Here, she includes her tips and tricks to control your CRPS/RSD as a chronic illness. She finds the following tips helpful for her own pain.   The reality of living with RSD/CRPS is that it is a lifelong chronic illness, which requires management and attention to avoid exacerbating symptoms.  I consider myself very fortunate to have most of my RSD symptoms under control at the moment.  But I do get flare ups of pain and swelling from time to time, and I’m always aware of how my affected foot is feeling in order to prevent symptoms from getting out of control. …
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Happy Disabiliday – A Letter from A Canadian CRPS Friend

This Disabiliday blog was originally featured on Pain Matter's website (Click on the word Pain Matters to see the original article). It was submitted to us by Paula to share with our wonderful #TheTuesdayBurn community. We hope this helps inspire all those living with disabilities, especially CRPS/RSD. "You may remember Paula Orecklin, the inspirational Canadian CRPS patient whom I wrote about in yesterday’s blog post: Let’s Talk To An Inspirational Young Canadian Woman, Paula Orecklin, About CRPS, Sativex, Physiotherapy and Neuroplasticity (There are additional References and Links at the end of this blog post.) This week, Paula sent me a beautiful letter to share with all of you (see below).  Paula’s letter contains a very important message for everyone, on behalf of all people living…
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SPPAN Tracking State Issues- How Can We Help CRPS/RSD?

This blog was originally titled "How SPPAN Went From Tracking A Few State Issues A Year, To Monitoring 1,900- And Changing the Rules in Several States." It was initially posted on Connectivity. You can click here to find it in its original form. At RSDSA's Nashville conference, pain-related legislation was a major hot topic. Some of the most frequently asked questions were about pain legislation and how to move towards change. RSDSA was offered this blog by CQ Roll Call to help explain a little bit of what SPPAN does and how one person can make a difference. How can this help people with CRPS/RSD? How can we move towards progress? The article starts below: "Here’s how one organization (for…
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RSDSA Finds Great Success At Nashville CRPS Conference

By Samantha Barrett, Special Events Coordinator As we regroup after a fabulous weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, we thought it would be nice to do a quick recap of the events that happened this past weekend. An amazing group of people with CRPS, caregivers, and supporters joined us to make this one of our most successful conferences yet! This past weekend, RSDSA staff and board members traveled to Music City to host Treating the Whole Person: Optimizing Wellness at Opryland Resort and Convention Center. This was our first time to Nashville and excitement was abundant. After months of planning, we couldn’t believe how quickly the event came up. Upon arriving at Opryland Resort and Convention Center, our jaws dropped. We never…
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The Impact of Mindfulness on RSD/CRPS

By Guest Blogger Emily Salser Nunez How important is mindfulness and CRPS/RSD? According to Emily, it is crucial. Read Emily's story and then see how being mindful helped her.   Eight months after fracturing my small toe in a simple misstep, I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).  I had never heard of this disorder when my podiatrist concluded this was what was causing my excruciating pain and inability to walk.  I knew something was seriously wrong, as over time my foot felt like it was burning and became bluish-black in color.  So, at first, I was relieved that I finally had an explanation for what was happening to me.  But then the podiatrist looked at me with deep…
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