If you have complex regional pain syndrome (or another chronic pain condition), how often have you heard this from a healthcare professional: 

"This is all in your head" 

"Your pain is fake"

“You are crazy”

Helping people with CRPS everyday, I have heard clients share this story with me WAY TOO MANY times. I'm reminded of the Hippocratic oath, I and so many other health care professionals pledged to: "first, do no harm".  Yet, telling people with CRPS that their pain is made up is so harmful. This myth needs to end!  

I was reviewing a 2024 article by Ferraro et al., and they included this graphic:

Where in the graphic do researchers suggest that it is made up? 

CRPS has a combination of immune mediated inflammation, brain changes, central sensitization, psychological factors, genetic factors, vasomotor dysfunction, & physical and functional brain changes.  

These factors can be influenced by lifestyle, autonomic, motor control, sensory, physical limitations, psychosocial systems. 

This is exactly why we have a transdisciplinary team with physical therapy, occupational therapy, rehab psychology, and wellness/yoga therapy. We aim to address each piece that may be contributing to your CRPS, so that you can beat CRPS! 

Here's an example of how we tackled that with Lucy! 

So if you are looking for a rebuttal for "it's all in your head", here are some options! 

• "No, CRPS is a complex primary pain condition that is influenced by multiple factors" 
• "What about my bodily systems?" 
• "First, do no harm" 

If you are looking for a clinic where you are the one being taught more on CRPS and starting treatment rather than teaching your healthcare provider on what CRPS is, get your free consultation to see if our CRPS program is a right fit for you! Here is the link.

Cheers to being the expert of your own body! 

Dr. Michael Chung PT, DPT; Doctor of Physical Therapy
CRPS Program Director

References: 

Ferraro, M. C., O’Connell, N. E., Sommer, C., Goebel, A., Bultitude, J. H., Cashin, A. G., Moseley, G. L., & McAuley, J. H. (2024). Complex regional pain syndrome: Advances in epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. The Lancet Neurology, 23(5), 522–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1474-4422(24)00076-0

P.S. This blog is an archive of our previous newsletter! If you want to start with our newsletter (we send them weekly), then sign up for this freebie and it signs you up for the newsletter!