Complex Regional Pain Syndrome of the Foot and Ankle: Treatment at the Early Onset with an Anesthetic Ankle Block

Abstract

Background: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a potentially severely painful and debilitating disorder that frequently affects an extremity after surgery or even a minor injury. Treatment of CRPS can be challenging, and due to some patients’ co-morbidities, treatments may be limited. Case Report: Retrospective review of 20 patients who were diagnosed with CRPS of the foot and/or ankle early (within 45 days of onset) and who were adjunctively treated with ring-type ankle blocks of bupivacaine with dexamethasone. Patients who benefited from the treatment were monitored for 12 months. Conclusion: When CRPS of the foot and/or ankle was diagnosed early and adjunctively treated with one or two 2 ankle blocks of bupivacaine with dexamethasone, the condition resolved completely for 18 of the 20 patients (90%). The ankle block is a simple, safe treatment with the potential to assist in alleviating CRPS of the foot and/or ankle when the condition is diagnosed early. Key words: Ankle, ankle block, complex regional pain syndrome (crps), foot, local anesthesia