Hi Mycah
Unfortunately there is no specific diagnose {DX} for RSD, for which makes it hard for the patient to get the immediate care and correct essential care they despepertaly need.
The majority of DR's go by the patients outward appearance of the disease,they seem to want to see before they believe,,A good DR will pick up on it before the outward symptoms pop up,,its my opion thats ,that is when we need aggressive treatment,
There are people who have RSD that dont remember what caused it,,it has been noted that alot of time people do minor injuries that they dont remember because it wasnt a big deal at the time,Like twisting an ankle,for which is a very common way to contract RSD.
In my travels,,Ive found that ortho DR's are less informative of RSD than a pain management DR and at times ,better yet a Anestiologistis a good one to go to as well,,but as for a GP and a internist, and podiatrist,ive had no luck,,Your Dr can order alot of tests,[thermograpy,bone scans ,eeg,emg,mri e-rays,bloodwork to rule out autoimmune diseases ect,,,,but it is my opinon ,that at the end of the day,,He can DX you with RSD but another DR will say you dont have it,Because none of them are conclusive enough to DX for RSD,,,{ But all these tests will be accumulative over a peiod of time to help with the DX,,,,,,,,,back to square one,,there isnt one specific test to stamp on with two feet that this patient does have RSD,,,,and it is a stumbling block for us all,,crucial time passes by waiting to get a DX , or to get a DR on board to believe us and better yet,to know what to do about it and it takes a trained eye to recognize what stage your in to find out what will work for you,,But even if you see a real Good educated DR who knows RSD,,Not all meds or treatment will work for you,,It isnt a cookie cutter disease,,so Its a crapshoot on what will work for you,{ trial and error,,,},,,It is not uncommon for a RSD patient to have more than one DR,,it wont offend him to incorperate another DR,,most of us here have seen tons of them,,you need to find what works for you,,,If you are looking for a DX on paper in the DR;s dictation to have in hand,,,My choice is go to either or both a Pain management and a Anestiologist DR.....
I hope and pray that you dont have RSD,,burning back pain can come from muscle strain and tears,,And Im not telling you to dump your ortho Dr,but if you do have RSD,My gut feeling says you will be seeing a boatload of DR;s in the long haul,,,,,,best wishes,,,,bobber