My Overview

My name is Emma and I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), commonly referred to as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). I have suffered from this pain condition for six years, since the age of 10 and it has completely changed my life. I first got RSD from a minor sprain injury, and was diagnosed with RSD months later. My life became a battle in which I had to fight the pain to continue my life. I had to give up all sports which I had previously loved and it took me a long time to accept that I wouldn’t be able to run again like I once had with so much joy. I have tried all the typical treatments for RSD including sympathetic nerve blocks, acupuncture, physiotherapy, tens machine, pain medication… but nothing worked and the pain has continued to get worse. A good day is a day in which I can cope with the pain. The pain is always there, but I am able to smile and laugh and feel the joys of life. On a bad day the pain is all I am able to see. A bad day is a day where I have failed to lock the pain away and once again it comes to control my life. It is hard for me to describe the pain as it varies greatly and there are often so many different types of pain, often at once. The most continual pain is the burning sensation. It is as though my foot has been placed in a fire, and I can’t pull it away. It continues to burn.