Bruising
 

Since Monday I have had a spot on my hand start to bruise. Slowly but surely it is getting worse/darker. I was wondering if this is related to the RSD? The bruise goes from the base knuckle of my pointer finger on my hand down to the top of my wrist and up to the middle of the two knuckles on my thumb. I have been doing my exercises to the best of my ability and doing some light housework. As far as I know I didn't hit it on anything. I was also wondering if anyone else with RSD has ever had the problem of their eyes getting really red to the point it looks like pink eye. I thought at first it was pink eye but the more reading up on RSD I have done it says that it can cause eyes to dry out. So I'm thinking that is what it was from.
Thanks

Hi Welcome to the forum!!!
When my arm is in a flare, I will get some bruising around the wrist similar to what you are describing, it will start off very small and then get bigger - It almost looks as if I have been knocked with something on the wrist when I haven't! I am not sure if it is related to RSD, but I would deffinately speak to your doctor if you have any concerns/questions.
Sorry that I can't help you that much
Love and best wishes
Alison
xxx

My hand is very susceptible to bruising. Even little bumps that wouldn't normally hurt will and then I'll get bruising too. A few bruises have even appeared that I didn't remember anything.

I've never noticed any problem with either eye that I thought might be related to RSD. Of course, I'm usually pretty sensitive to light and changing conditions.

Bringing up an old thread here - one that I missed before - I just wanted to add my experience that often, just around the time of a flair, I will have significant bruising around the site of the original injury that led to the RSD, and without any apparent stimulus whatsoever.

This has been going on since roughly a year after I first got RSD: and more than 3 years before I went on blood thinners following a mild heart attack. In fact, it's been with me big time over the last couple of days, hence the interest in the subject.

I'm convinced there must be some clinical significance to this, especially where it is known that the sympathetic nervous system triggers the release of vasal constrictors in response to bleeding, which could easily result in a flair, but I'm not sure what triggers the bleeds in the first place.

That said, there are some clues out there that may be worth noting. Check out the following PubMed [govt. source: not copywrited] abstract:

"Exaggerated vasoconstriction in complex regional pain syndrome-1 is associated with impaired resistance artery endothelial function and local vascular reflexes," Dayan L, Salman S, Norman D, Vatine JJ, Calif E, Jacob G.J., J. Rheumatology 2008 Jul; 35(7):1339-45. Epub 2008 May 1.

OBJECTIVE: Local regulatory mechanisms and microvascular function play a major role in the pathogenesis of hemodynamic and trophic changes in patients with complex regional pain syndrome-1 (CRPS). Venoarteriolar and venoarteriolar-myogenic reflexes (VAR, VMR, respectively) as well as endothelial-dependent vasodilatation are important contributors to local vasoregulation. We examined whether VAR and VMR as well as resistance artery endothelial function are damaged in affected limbs of patients with CRPS. METHODS: We measured reactive hyperemic response as an index of resistance artery endothelial function, VAR and VMR in extremity soft-tissue vasculature in patients with CRPS. RESULTS: Baseline blood flow values were not different between CRPS affected and unaffected upper and lower limbs. Resistance artery endothelial function indices, i.e., values of maximal flow after ischemia and the area under the flow-time curve (AUC), were significantly higher in the unaffected versus CRPS-affected upper limbs (19 +/- 3 vs 16 +/- 3 ml*min(-1)*dl(-1) and 373 +/- 71 vs 319 +/- 70 units, for maximal flow AUC, respectively) and lower limbs (9 +/- 2 vs 6 +/- 1.5 ml*min(-1)*dl(-1) and 160 +/- 51 vs 130 +/- 42 units, for maximal flow and AUC, respectively). Flow indices reflecting VAR were lower in the lower, but not upper CRPS-affected limbs compared with unaffected contralaterals (2 +/- 0.24 vs 1.55 +/- 0.3 ml*min(-1)*dl(-1); p = 0.027). Microvascular myogenic reflex-VMR indices, however, were not different in the upper or in the lower CRPS-affected limbs compared with their unaffected contralaterals. CONCLUSION: Impaired balance exists in CRPS-affected limbs between vascular regulation systems responsible for vasoconstriction and vasodilation.

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

Translation: perhaps the same mechanisms that are responsible for impaired vasoconstriction and vasodilatation in the RSD affected limb may have a pronounced effect at the site of the original injury, leading to subsequent hemorrhaging without any apparent cause.

Any thoughts?

Mike

That's interesting to me because Reed has what appears to be bruising at the original injury site that never goes away. Some days it's worse than others, sometimes barely visible, but it does look like a huge bruise on his ankle.

I was injured on my right wrist not my hand. But the bruising still continues. Somedays I don't see it others it looks like this big black spot on my hand, then the in between days where its noticable but not so dark. So it is possible that this is RSD related. I have a doctors appointment finally on the 24th of Oct. with a hand specialist instead of that bone specialist. When I had asked the bone specialist about the bruise he said it is not from my RSD then proceeded to tell me that after 2 weeks of OT that my RSD is cured. WRONG! Anyway I have said all this b4, just still irritating. That info does help me out about the bruising.

Thank you

Welcome Iffynah, That was interesting information. Thanks fmichael. Sounds like you got a good clue from the bone specialist, he may lack considerable education about RSD. Hope you like the hand specialist. It was a hand specialist that correctly diagnosed me very quickly and got me into rehab the next day. Hope the best for you. Loretta

Hi,

I seem to be having a lot more visible bruising now - a few months ago, I would only get the bruising when I was going into a flare but now it seems to come a lot more often.

I spoke to my Pain Management Doctor about it and he said that bruising is very common in RSD as the Cappliaries (sp?) are broken so even the lightest touch could cause us to bruise very easily.

Just thought I would share what I was told incase any of you found it useful,.

Alison