Electrical Nerve Stimulation for RSD
I’m Ed Smith, an RSD Lawyer in Sacramento. One of the most pressing issues facing healthcare today is the number of people living with chronic pain. For those who don’t know, chronic pain is a long-term feeling of discomfort that will not go away. According to statistics from the American Academy of Pain Medicine, more people are living with chronic pain than there are living with diabetes, cancer, and heart disease put together. There are many reasons why someone may have chronic pain, and one of these is from a disease called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Some of the symptoms and signs of RSD that people may manifest include:
- Skin that is excessively dry, cracked, or wrinkled
- Feelings of numbness or tingling in the affected limb
- Nails that become brittle, damaged, or even change in color
- Difficulty moving, flexing or extending the muscles
- Intense, burning, shooting pain in the affected limb
It is this chronic pain that often makes RSD too painful to bear. There are several treatments that one may use to try and manage the pain. Some people see a massage therapist regularly while other people may elect to try pain medication. Others may even turn to regular nerve blocks to try and blunt the discomfort. One of the treatments that people can also try is called electrical nerve stimulation.
Treatment of RSD with Electrical Nerve Stimulation
RSD can lead to many complications; however, the most common is the development of chronic pain. This pain comes from the continued misfiring of nerves in the affected limb. Nerves carry motor signals from the brain to the limb and sensory signals in the opposite direction. These sensory signals help the brain interpret pressure, temperature, and pain. When these nerves misfire, the brain interprets these signals as pain, leading to the discomfort that people feel. For this reason, treatment of pain related to RSD has centered around the nerves. One of the treatments that have shown promise is electrical nerve stimulation. By using electrical nerve stimulation, the nerves are essentially overloaded with electricity. The brain has trouble interpreting the overload in the nerves and fails to perceive the overload as pain. This can provide symptom relief for individuals who have struggled to manage their pain with other types of therapy. The treatment is called Therapeutic Electrical Nerve Stimulation, or TENS, and people with RSD should ask their doctor if TENS treatment is right for them.
Help from a Sacramento RSD lawyer
Many ancillary issues could arise when someone struggles with RSD. People may need to get at home health professionals to help them manage their disease. Others may have symptoms so severe that they need to miss an extended amount of time from work. Health insurance companies may hesitate to cover the cost of medical care related to RSD. In times of stress, meeting with an RSD lawyer in Sacramento can be helpful. A trained legal adviser can help a family assess all of their options and decide on the most appropriate course of action. Please contact us today with any questions; we would be happy to help.
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Contact an Experienced RSD Attorney in Sacramento
I’m Ed Smith, an RSD Lawyer in Sacramento. If someone you know is looking for additional treatment options for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, please call me at (916) 382-0693. I am available to provide friendly, free legal advice.
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