Chair of Pain Medicine at the University of Liverpool and Pain Medicine Consultant at The Walton Centre, Professor Andreas Goebel, has highlighted the need for more awareness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in an article published in the internationally renowned New England Journal of Medicine this week.
CRPS is a rare, often severe post-traumatic limb pain condition of possible autoimmune origin. Of those affected, one in five patients will have persistent symptoms. Treatment can include pain management programmes to support self-care, and, in some patients, neurosurgical interventions may be recommended if other pathways have been exhausted.
Professor Goebel said: “It’s important to recognise this often invisible pain condition and increase the awareness. Many patients can go a long time undiagnosed because of very individual symptoms. Prompting more discussion around it can only help improve knowledge, and direct patients to the correct services.
“At The Walton Centre, we run a dedicated CRPS service, which looks at each patient holistically, incorporating education, pain relief, physical rehabilitation, and psychological intervention into their care.”
The CRPS review features in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Published continuously for over 200 years, the publication aims to deliver high-quality, peer-reviewed research and interactive clinical content to physicians, educators, researchers, and the global medical community.
The Walton Centre’s Deputy Chief Executive and Medical Director Dr Andy Nicolson said: “Highlighting this condition is an important step in getting more people diagnosed and treated. Often it can be a debilitating condition for a number of reasons, which is why substantial effort from Professor Goebel and his team goes into raising awareness and researching new treatments and ways of supporting CRPS patients.”
Alongside the University of Liverpool, The Walton Centre team are at the forefront of CRPS research world-wide, initiating a UK Guideline Group, which recently developed UK Guidance for health professionals for managing the condition – the first of its kind in the UK.
For more information on The Walton Centre’s CRPS service, visit Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), The Walton Centre.
You can read the full article here: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)