Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/ Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/Sympathetic Mediated Pain

All of the above terms essentially are describing the same pain ailment. The bottom line is that the sympathetic nervous system that controls dilation or constriction of blood vessels is disturbed and this disturbance causes pain usually in distal portions of the extremities and if left untreated can migrate to more proximal regions of the body. The classic case of this type of pain is a severe trauma to an ankle and the ensuing convalesence is prolonged and the pain upon weight bearing is so severe that the patient delays walking. This type of delay is sometimes enough to cause the sympathetic nervous system to distort the message given to blood vessels and cause pain.