Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a condition that features a group of typical symptoms, including pain (often “burning” type), tenderness, and swelling of an extremity associated with varying degrees of sweating, warmth and/or coolness, flushing, discoloration, and shiny skin. RSD is also referred to as “complex regional pain syndrome,” “the shoulder-hand syndrome,” “causalgia,” and "Sudeck’s atrophy.
A variety of events can trigger the RSD, including:
injury,
surgery,
heart disease,
degenerative arthritis of the neck,
stroke or other brain diseases,
nerve irritation by entrapment (such as carpal tunnel syndrome),
shingles,
shoulder problems,
breast cancer, and
drugs for tuberculosis and barbiturates. Continue Reading