I read the article. Here's the direct link: http://www.neurologynow.com/pt/re/ne...d=1&nav=search

It's certainly the most controversial piece I've seen in years. Under the heading of a multi-modality approach, involving lots of PT etc. [I did that with a three month outpatient regime at a local hospital in 2003, although I'm sure not according to Dr. Oaklander's guidelines] one of the leading CRPS specialist in the country is now, according to this article, saying that blocks are useless. Moreover, she is employing a technique of casting [read: immobilization] to guide frozen limbs back to their original position, when everything I've learned along the way suggests that immobilization exacerbates RSD. (On another personal note, my problems really took off when my feet were cast following tendon injuries, and were compounded during the period of time I was wearing ankle foot orthotics.)

That said, Dr. Oaklander clearly knows her stuff, and the young lady in the article is obviously greatly improved. (I take issue with her one point however, that all of the changes in the brain are secondary to pain. That is an unproven assumption on her part; nothing in the literature that I am aware of has proven Dr. Oaklander's point. Moreover, PET scans have shown the immediate - within seconds- reversal of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBS) in patients who were undergoing ECT therapy, while unconscious, which can hardly be deemed a response to the deminishment of pain.)

So this is all very confusing. Any thoughts?

PS See related discussion under the thread: what good are blocks if relief is temporary http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/th...read87191.html