Well, I am not sure and only time will tell but I wonder if I was able to stop a spread/flare of RSD. I have RSD from hand to shoulder on my left side and have been diagnosed with this for just over a year. In that time I have done a lot of PT, OT, diet changes, aqua PT for swelling and medication. Through my efforts and time I have been able to calm some of the symptoms down for some of the time.

Well, then today I was attemping to make the bed. I was tugging on the sheet to make it crisp and tight when my RSD hand released and swung right into the solid wood headboard. I hit my thumb hard and the pain was bad and persisted for a good 10-15 minutes. Then my thumb started to swell as if I had a huge water blister under it and I was not able to move it at all. I was scared to death which then got my sympathetic system cranked up and I started sweating like crazy on the left side only.

I was in such panick and pain but then I thought, OK, life is going to happen so what are you gonna do about it? So the first thing I did was take a lorazapam for the anxiety and to slow down my sympathetic system. I also took a 500 mg of vitamin C and 200 mg of vitamin E (I don't know why). Then I got my sponge and started scrubbing the counter for 3-4 minutes at a time (compression) every 30-45 minutes for the next six hours. I did this because the scrubbing really helped me control the pain last summer. I also got a kitchen towl damp and used this (it is heavier) to scrub the counter for more compression.

And oh my gosh, to my total surprise, the swelling is down 90% and the pain had significantly retreated. I also can now bend my thumb completely even though it still hurts. I do have a big red spot on it where my bone really took the hit but I think that looks more like what a normal person would get. The sweating stopped after about 20 minutes so I don't know if it was the medication or the scrubbing.

I don't know what the next few days will bring but I plan to continue scrubbing the counter for compression and probably will soak my hand in Epsom Salt water in just a few minutes as that always helps me when I am in a bad flare. I will let you know how this turns out. I will be thrilled if this stops the flare because it was my RSD hand and it looked really bad.