I was diagnosed in December 2013 with RSD in my left hand just 6 weeks after Ulnar surgery. My doctor and my therapist both prescribed contrast baths for my hand. OUCH!!! I have read so much about these baths and most is negative. Anyone here have experience with them? Good? Bad?

Hi there puregenius

There is only one word with any relevance here I'm afraid....

NO

Do not do it. Contrast baths used to be recommended for CRPS back in the dark ages of the disease when not much information was being shared between doctors and therapists. It has been shown many times to cause spread and worsening of symptoms, and to be honest, you have to be wary of how up-to-date these people's knowledge is.

Extremes of temperature cause a lot of pain anyway, and the important thing with CRPS is to make sure your body still experiences a range of temperatures and sensations, but not to exacerbate the pain cycle that has already gone haywire in your brain and is causing a lot of the problems. It's why ice is such a massive NO as well...anywhere on your body.

Desensitisation exercises (start by stroking the affected area with a soft cloth regularly, gradually work up to more coarse materials) are a great idea and will help with your tolerances to movement and activity. Gentle exercises are also a good plan, not just the affected limb, but your whole body.

This is why it's so important to read up as much as you can about this disease - what is safe to do, and what is not safe to try. Many doctors and other medics just cannot know all the details of the rarer conditions, and few keep up with the more recent discoveries and thinking.

Please don't even let them 'try' it. You need to be your best advocate with CRPS. Read the good sites like RSDhope and the uk NHS site, also the Wikipedia page on CRPS. Make a few notes to carry round with you, and research any planned treatment before it starts to make sure it is a good idea. Sadly, when it comes to CRPS, you cannot blindly trust all medics. There are some very good ones out there, but far more who either pretend to know more than they do, or who just don't care enough. Protect yourself.

Good luck and I'm sorry you have this. It does get easier to manage though, and you will get more used to both the physical and mental challenges it throws at you. Honest

Bram.

Ditto - What Bram said...

As always, Bram so eloquently speaks the truth! She is our wonderful sage. You must get educated and be your own advocate. Most health care practitioners know little or nothing about best practices for CRPS. Rsdcanada.org has some good info in addition to the sites Bram shared. Be well ~Lottie

I so completely agree with the advice you have been given here.

NO, NO, NO. And after that, I'd say NO.

You must not let them do this. It's a terrible idea that can make things worse.

You may also want to very seriously consider finding some professionals that are more up to date on how to treat CRPS. This doctor and therapist are not there....

Good luck to you!

Hi irpg,

Sorry that you've been bitten by the RSD monster, but it is great that you were diagnosed so early in this process. Too many docs dismiss our complaints of severe burning pain out of proportion to the original injury.

An appropriate intervention at this stage is your best shot at remission. I wish you the best of luck finding that APPROPRIATE intervention, but I hope that you listen to Bram and others here about the damage that contrast baths can cause for folks with RSD. I agree with others that that doc/PT recommendation would make me question how current their knowledge is about treatment for RSD/CRPS

I spoke with my doc yesterday and he actually admitted that he had some reading to do He also asked that I share the information with the girls in OT and they agreed with me and said they would start reading as well!!

That's a start! You could refer them to some of the links on this forum's helpful websites list.

Lol irpuregenius! How did you get him to do that???!!!

I wish mine would....he just says he hasn't the time to read detail about every condition his patients have.... and that that's why we have specialists. Hmm. Sounds like a bit of a cop-out to me.

That's a lot more positive, and I'm really pleased for you Well done!

Bram.

Bram- I am very lucky to have a good doctor. He is really interested in my case, especially since my mother had symptoms after a trigger release surgery. He is facinated by the genetic link. Thanks for the suggestion on the literature on this site. My doctor would be excited to read anything I can offer.