Hi Gabby,

It sounds like you've been through quite the experience. I'm sorry to hear about all of your procedures, but I hope that you are starting to feel better and regain some of your function. I am not an expert in ketamine, as I am an occupational therapist, and not an MD, so this is not a treatment option for me and therefore I must explore alternatives that are within my scope of practice. Luckily, much of the alternatives I find seem to be more holistic in the sense that they balance the entire mind and body's state of arousal, and therefore affect all of the physiological systems at once.

For contracture, I have had very good success using ETPS with deep dissure massage and perhaps static-progressive or dynamic splinting over a long period of time. Splinting in this fashion helps to elongate, and sometimes release the tissues, whereas ETPS seems to somehow (and I have no idea how) release some of the scar tissue. I have used it with some very significant scars and saw some amazing results. Most OTs/PTs don't use this technique, so find someone in your area who has been trained in ETPS. ETPS also apparently helps with CRPS, but I have yet to use it with this condition, so I would reserve judgment until I do so.

I would recommend for everyone here that they explore Qi Gong and mindfulness meditation first, and neurofeedback second. I am a very scientifically oriented person, and I recommend meditation and Qi Gong based on observation and also research. I personally would combine mindfulness and Qi Gong with neurofeedback.

Perhaps you might also look into the literature on transcranial DC electrical stimulation (tDCS), as well. I haven't investigated whether this has been used in CRPS, but I imagine it has. tDCS is a very safe procedure whereby a small DC current is sent through various parts of the brain. Go to pubmed and search for it--you will be impressed at the research. It is similar in efficacy to transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Since tDCS is more invasive than neurofeedback, it is not something I incorporate into my practice, but I present it to you for informational purposes only. I don't recommend you pursue DC stimulation by yourself without first consulting an MD/psychiatrist who specializes and has experience in the area. (There aren't many.) If you find someone who specializes in it, you should be able to buy a unit for around $4-500 dollars and do it at home with instructions from an MD.

Hope you are feeling better... and I hope this information helped!

-Jonathan