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Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Common Terms

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) travels under a lot of aliases; most of these terms arise out of symptoms accompanying the syndrome. Recently medical professionals have begun to discuss RSD as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Those of us who have it are more probably use to RSD (and that's how you'll find it referred to on this server).

The following list of terms has been collected from numerous medical journal articles, discussions with doctors and other medical professionals and through years of having RSD. They are listed alphabetically. If you know of other terms for the syndrome, please let us know and we will add it to the list.

Acute Atrophy of the Bone Acute Peripheral Trophoneurosis1 Algodystrophy Mineures Algodystrophy Reflexes
Algodystrophy Causalgia Chronic Traumatic Edema Complex Regional Pain Syndrome I (CPRS I)
Mimo-Causalgia Minor Causalgia Neurodystrophy Neurovascular Post-Traumatic Painful Syndrome1
Pain-Dysfunction Syndrome Post-Traumatic Chronic Edema1 Post-Traumatic Dystrophy Post-Traumatic Osteoporosis
Post-Traumatic Pain Syndrome Reflex Neurovascular Dystrophy Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Shoulder Hand Syndrome
Spreading Neuralgia1 Sudeck's Atrophy Sympathetic Overdrive Syndrome Thermalgia1
Traumatic Angiospasm1 Traumatic Vasospasm  
1  Portenoy, Russell K: Neuropathic Pain. In Portenoy, Russell K. and Kanner, Ronald M., (eds.): Pain Management:Theory and Practice, Philadelphia: F.A. David Company, 1996, p 89.

© 1997 Karen Strauss and The Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Network.

This page was last updated on January 28, 1997.

Please feel free to mail us any comments.