Quote:
Originally Posted by catra121
I'm not necessarily saying that your physical therapist has to be an expert in RSD...that would be preferable but is not necessarily the only option. At the very least, your physical therapist should know OF RSD and be willing to learn more about both the condition and YOUR specific case (as we are all different).
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Well said, Catra !
I wouldn't hold it against the PT that they used/recommended ice/cold therapy for your initial dx, but once the dx of RSD was introduced, any PT who didn't already know about RSD and appropriate interventions is obligated to do some research on what interventions are advisable and which are contraindicated. They should have immediately stopped the ice treatment and conferredith the prescribing doc at that point.
Your expression of being "addicted to ice" caught my eye. When a bullheaded physiatrist was misdiagnosing and mistreating my TOS, insisting that I just had to do more weight lifting to fix my severe pain, ice for 16 hours a day felt like the one thing that was saving my life and numbing the pain. Now I realize it probably caused or at least contributed to the pain from TOS developing into RSD. As soon as I started reading up on RSD, I realized it was a "no-no" but at the time I had NO other effective treatment to help manage the pain.
I'm embarrassed to admit it here, because I understand refractory pain, but on occassion now I still depend on ice packs when I get really deserate. Thankfully, most days now I do have a reasonable level of control of the pain thanks to the right medication combo and other interventions.