Abstract
On the South Island of New Zealand, Anaesthetists and other Medical Professionals, frequently refer their patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) for physiotherapy management. Beliefs about what is important for the management of patients with CRPS are lacking across all medical and allied health disciplines. Difficulties are no gold standard for diagnosis and evidence for intervention methods is moderate or can be conflicting. This paper explores what Physiotherapists believe to be important in a clinical setting for their management of CRPS, as well as documenting and evaluating their interventional methods used in everyday clinical practice across the region of the South Island of New Zealand. This has not been recorded before. Eighty-one Physiotherapists replied to questions on their usual treatment interventions for the management of CRPS, their frequency of use of these treatment interventions, and what they believed to be important in the management of pain and improvement of function. The results demonstrated that CRPS is not a common condition seen regularly by Physiotherapists; that there is a high level of variation between the physiotherapy interventions used and that Physiotherapists’ beliefs regarding interventions used for pain management and functional restoration differ. Education was reported as the most frequently used intervention method. Those physiotherapists seeing CRPS patients more frequently are more likely to use evidence based intervention methods like graded motor imagery or sensory motor training.
Highlights
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a persistent pain syndrome with a low prevalence [1] [2] which exhibits abnormal sensory, motor, sudomotor, vasomotor, and/or trophic findings and shows variable progression over time [3] [4] [5] [6]
This paper explores what Physiotherapists believe to be important in a clinical setting for their management of CRPS, as well as documenting and evaluating their interventional methods used in everyday clinical practice across the region of the South Island of New Zealand
Eightyone Physiotherapists replied to questions on their usual treatment interventions for the management of CRPS, their frequency of use of these treatment interventions, and what they believed to be important in the management of pain and improvement of function
Summary
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a persistent pain syndrome with a low prevalence [1] [2] which exhibits abnormal sensory, motor, sudomotor, vasomotor, and/or trophic findings and shows variable progression over time [3] [4] [5] [6]. It is evaluated by anaesthetists in Pain Management or by physiotherapists. Beliefs about what is important or not for the management of CRPS remain unknown
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have