Okay. I'll admit to being pretty lethargic and ignoring responsibilities on the board over the last couple of weeks. To answer Diana's question about researching HBOT as a treatment for CRPS, I went to my "usual sources" and didn't come up with much. Going first to my the easiest reference page of all, the RSDSA Medical Articles Archive page at http://www.rsds.org/2/library/articl...ive/index.html we get one lone article from 1995:

Hyperbaric oxygen and the reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome: a case report. Peach G, Undersea Hyperb Med. 1995 Dec; 22(4): 407-8.

Hyperbaric Medicine Department, University of Baltimore Medical Center, Maryland, USA.

ABSTRACT: A patient suffering from acute smoke inhalation also had a long medical history that included reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome of the left foot and ankle. The entire foot and ankle were tender and cool to palpation; range of motion was severely reduced. She was referred for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and 15 min into the the first treatment (46 min at 60 fsw) she reported a lessening of the pain in her foot; moreover, the foot was less cyanotic and warmer to the touch. Subsequent treatments continued to improve her conditions and for longer periods of time.

A pdf photocopy of the article is available on the through RSDSA page at http://www.rsds.org/2/library/articl...Hyperbaric.pdf

I then ran the article through PubMed - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ - an online collection of medical articles and their abstracts maintained by the NIH, often with extensive cross-referencing, but found that the article in question was apparently never cited thereafter. At that point. I was left just running searches on PubMed. Doing that, I came up with a few abstracts, which are listed below. Unfortunately, none of these article are currently free, so you would have to (1) go to a medical library, (2) make the acquaintance of someone with access to a research university computer system, or (3) if you're lucky, once you've called up the individual article abstracts on PubMed you can then follow the available links to the publisher sites, which would in turn sell you copies of the article from anywhere from $20 to $35 each. In any event, here's what I came up with, and please note the distinctive international flavor in what follows:

1. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in chronic pain management.Yildiz S, Uzun G, Kiralp MZ. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2006 Apr;10(2):95-100.

Department of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Training Hospital, 34668 Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey. senoyildiz@yahoo.com

Chronic pain is one of the frequently encountered clinical problems that is difficult to cure. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy has been reported in chronic pain syndromes with promising results. In this review, we focus on the effectiveness of HBO in fibromyalgia syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, myofascial pain syndrome, migraine, and cluster headaches. HBO may be beneficial if appropriate patients are selected. HBO is a reliable method of treatment. However, physicians performing HBO must be aware of oxygen toxicity. Another problem regarding HBO is the scarcity of centers administering it. Further research is required focusing on the optimal treatment protocol, the cost/benefit ratio, and the safety of HBO in chronic pain management.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

2. Effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome. Kiralp MZ, Yildiz S, Vural D, Keskin I, Ay H, Dursun H. J Int Med Res. 2004 May-Jun; 32(3):258-62.

Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. mkiralp@hotmail.com

In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study we aimed to assess the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy for treating patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Of the 71 patients, 37 were allocated to the HBO group and 34 to the control (normal air) group. Both groups received 15 therapy sessions in a hyperbaric chamber. Pain, oedema and range of motion (ROM) of the wrist were evaluated before treatment, after the 15th treatment session and on day 45. In the HBO group there was a significant decrease in pain and oedema and a significant increase in the ROM of the wrist. When we compared the two groups, the HBO group had significantly better results with the exception of wrist extension. In conclusion, HBO is an effective and well-tolerated method for decreasing pain and oedema and increasing the ROM in patients with CRPS.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

3. Post-traumatic reflex sympathetic dystrophy in the ankle and foot: a study of 32 cases. Bacchini M, Vaienti E, Soncini G. Chir Organi Mov. 1999 Apr-Jun;84(2):189-96. [Article in English, Italian]

Istituto di Clinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica, Università Parma.

The etiopathogenesis of reflex sympathetic dystrophy is still undefined, and diagnosis and treatment are difficult. It is the purpose of this study to propose precise diagnostic and therapeutic criteria for post-traumatic reflex sympathetic dystrophy of the ankle and foot. Diagnosis is pre-eminently clinical. Clinical progression of the disease occurs in three stages: acute, dystrophic, chronic. Radiographic examination cannot be used to classify the stage of the syndrome. Bone scan with Tc 99M methylendiphosphonate aids diagnosis, and helps establish the prognosis of the disease. Clinical symptoms and instrumental tests (x-ray, bone scan, CT scan, MRI) are discussed in relation to differential diagnosis with other pathologies of the ankle and foot. Furthermore, the effective use of drugs, physiokinesitherapy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy is discussed. The authors present a study of 32 patients, paying close attention to early clinical signs of the disease. X-ray examination and bone scan were routinely carried out in established diagnostic protocols.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

4. [The treatment of a complex regional pain syndrome][Article in Russian] Tuter NV, Danilov AB, Poliakova LV.Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 1997;97(11):33-5.

35 patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) were treated by hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) and caffetin preparation. A significant decrease of pain was observed in all the patients after the treatment course. Intensity of pain was diminished according to visual analogous scale. Meanwhile considerable regression of autonomic disorders and weakening of anxious and depressive manifestations was noted too. The tendency to normalization of evoked skin potentials was also found. Some elevation of the threshold of nociceptive reflex was conditioned by displacement toward general increase of antinociception after the treatment. Effect of HBO therapy persisted during 6 months in 87% of the patients. Efficiency of caffetin was restricted by the time of its administration. The conclusion was made about possibility of successful treatment of CRPS patients by both methods.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9...ubmed_RVDocSum

Pretty slim pickings overall, and none of the four abstracted articles listed above are even linked for online purchase at that, although I haven't tried accessing the publishers directly. Perhaps someone else will have better luck.

Mike