I don't know if this is posted anywhere else but if it is I'm sorry. There are many words and abbreviations we use that may be confusing to some, especially newcomers. I was wondering if we should have a place to list them all to help clear up any confusion.

I think that is a great idea. *GRIN You are such a good nurse!*

Could a sticky thread be started? I think it's a great idea. ~mac

That would be a good idea! I remember when I first came on here and had no idea what some of the abbreviations meant, and still have to look some of them up.

Thanks everyone I feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I will be go back and look at some of the threads and see what terms come up most, I already have a list started. Hopefully I can do this in a day or two (fingers crossed).

Let's see Warm and Fuzzy can be... WaFuzy...? no no no.. that just won't do.. um. WarmFz....? No no no.. Oh well, I'm just not any good at this Abbreviation Game. GRIN We'll just have to go with Warm and Fuzzy Inside for now! After all, It is so good!!!!

This may help - it's a list of many of the abbreviations used throughout Neurotalk.
It can be found under: Neurotalk Support Groups - General - Community Guidelines.
It may not include all those specific to RSD/CRPS so developing an additional one would be useful.
Here's the link:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=255

If we can help in any way let us know. Thanks for doing this I think it will really help!

If you get them all into a single post , just add or copy it to the useful sticky thread -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread247.html

I will post this in the sticky thread as well but this is what I have so far. Please let me know if there is something I missed or made an error. I have a little bit of pain brain going on so mistakes are probable.


Abbreviations (general):

CRPS- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (formerly RSD)

RSD- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (Now CRPS)

PM- Pain Management

PCP- Primary Care Physician

PMR- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

WC- Worker’s Compensation



Frequently used terms:

Edema- Swelling

Budapest Criteria- List of signs and symptoms used in the diagnosis of CRPS

Allodynia- Pain from a non-painful stimulus of skin (i.e. light touch, sheets,
gentle breeze)

Causalgia- Alternative name for CRPS (not often used)

Hyperalgesia- Increased sensitivity to pain


Tests:

EMG- Electromyography: a test that studies muscles and the nerves that control them

QSART- AKA sweat test: studies the nerves associated with the sweat production by measuring the amount of sweat produced

NCS- Nerve Conduction Study: used to asses for nerve damage

Bone scan- A test that uses nuclear medicine to show bone damage and density.


Treatments:

PT- Physical Therapy

OT- Occupational Therapy

ROM- Range of motion

SCS- Spinal Cord Stimulator

SGB- Stellate Ganglion Block: procedure where a small amount of anesthetic is injected into the sympathetic nerves in the neck; used for pain in upper body including the arms

LSB- Lumbar Sympathetic Block: procedure where a small amount of anesthetic is injected into the sympathetic nerves near the spinal cord; used for pain in lower back and legs

Mirror Therapy- Uses a mirror to “trick” the mined into thinking it is touching the unaffected limb when you are actually touching the affected limb

HBOT- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Device/tube that you lay in as 100% oxygen is pumped into a high pressure environment

Calmare- “Scrambles” pain waves using electrodes that are placed on the skin
Water therapy- Therapy done in a warm pool

Kinesio Tape (KT) - Flexible tape that when placed on the skin can help with swelling and pain

Quell- Programmable device that when placed on the body uses nerve stimulation to aid in pain control


Medications:

LDN- Low Dose Naltrexone

Gaba- Gabapentin/Neurontin

TCA- Tricyclic Antidepressants (i.e. amitriptyline, nortriptyline)

Compound cream- Cream made from a variety of medications; usually included ketamine and lidocaine

Troche- Lozenge; Medication made to slowly dissolve in the mouth