Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic condition that usually develops after an injury, causing severe pain, often much worse than expected. Because of its important impact on movement and daily life, getting help early is crucial.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a long-lasting pain condition that usually develops in a single limb (arm or leg) following a serious injury, surgery, or even something minor like a sprain. It affects an estimated 7 million people worldwide and the debilitating pain is often stronger than expected and may feel burning, throbbing, or overly sensitive to touch.
CRPS is still not fully understood, but this rare condition is believed to happen when the nervous system malfunctions after an injury, causing the body’s pain signals and inflammation to become overly active and out of balance.
- Ongoing or recurring pain in the arm, hand, leg, or foot
- Increased sensitivity to cold, touch, or even mild stimuli
- Swelling in the painful area
- Changes in skin temperature, alternating between sweaty, warm, or cold
- Skin color changes, such as redness, blotchiness, or a pale appearance
- Stiffness and weakness that make it difficult to move the affected limb
- Changes in hair and nail growth in the affected area
Diagnosis of CRPS is mostly based on patient history and symptom presentation, as there is no specific laboratory test. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial to improving outcomes.
Treatment typically involves a multidisciplinary approach combining physical therapy, medications, and emotional support to improve quality of life.
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?
Topic
Pain
Presented by: Dr. Andrea Furlan, MD, pain specialist, Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Physician and Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Summary: In this concise 13-minute video, Dr Furlan explains what CRPS is — how it arises, what symptoms typically present, and why it’s more than just “bad pain.” Viewers will learn:
|
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)? offers
Videos
How I Beat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After 18 Years!
How I Beat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After 18 Years!
Topic
Pain
Presented by: Dr. Andrea Furlan, MD, pain specialist, Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Physician and Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Summary: In this deeply personal interview, Cheryl Beland recounts her struggle with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and how she ultimately found a way through 18 years of relentless pain. The 26-minute video traces the evolution of her condition, the challenges she faced (including misdiagnoses, diminishing hope, and the emotional toll of chronic suffering), and the pivotal turning points that led her toward healing.
This video is especially relevant for anyone living with chronic pain seeking inspiration from real-life recovery stories. It offers both an authentic look at the struggle of CRPS and an uplifting account of resilience and transformation.
How I Beat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After 18 Years! offers
Videos
Learn about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Learn about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Topic
Pain
Developed by: Alberta Health Sciences
Summary: This Alberta Health Services page explains what CRPS is, its common symptoms, and how it’s treated. You’ll find clear, reliable information about causes, diagnosis, and practical ways to manage pain and regain movement. It also highlights the importance of early care, rehabilitation, and emotional support.
Explore trusted guidance to help you understand CRPS and take an active role in your recovery.
Learn about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) offers
Articles
The Mysterious Science of Pain
The Mysterious Science of Pain
Topic
Pain
Presented by: Dr. Joshua Pate, PhD MRes MPhysio, directed by Artrake Studio. Dr. Pate is a pain scientist, children's book author, clinician and educator from Sydney, Australia.
Summary: In 1995, the British Medical Journal published a report about a builder who accidentally jumped onto a nail, which pierced straight through his steel-toed boot. He was in such agonizing pain that any movement was unbearable. But when the doctors took off his boot, they discovered that the nail had never touched his foot at all. What’s going on? Joshua W. Pate investigates the experience of pain.
The Mysterious Science of Pain offers
Videos
My SleepWell
My SleepWell
Topic
Sleep
Developed by: Drs. David Gardner and Andrea Murphy from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and contributed to by psychologists, psychiatrists, family doctors, pharmacists, people who live with insomnia, researchers, and sleep experts to make sure that our recommendations and content are accurate and practical.
Summary: Sleepwell has two main goals: 1) to help people with insomnia get their sleep back without medications; and 2) to help people stop taking sleeping pills safely and effectively. Sleepwell recommends CBTi (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia) because it has excellent evidence that it works. The challenge for many is getting access to CBTi. This is where Sleepwell comes in. The website includes a highly scrutinized short list of recommended CBTi resources to help get you started without delay. Their recommendations take a self-help approach to CBTi rather than requiring that a therapist be involved, which is also a great option but not available to most people.
My SleepWell offers
Articles Tools and Resources
The Pain Course
The Pain Course
Topic
Pain
Developed by: eCentreClinic at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia
Summary: The Pain Course is a free, online and internet-delivered pain management program, designed to provide information and teach practical skills for managing the impact of chronic pain on day-to-day activities and emotional wellbeing.
The program consists of five lessons, each containing in-depth reading materials with many practical exercises to help integrate the content, and relatable lived experience stories carried throughout the course:
- Lesson 1: Learn about chronic pain and its effects on emotional wellbeing, along with strategies to manage these impacts.
- Lesson 2: Learn about the role of your thoughts in chronic pain management and how to manage unhelpful thinking.
- Lesson 3: Learn about physical symptoms related to chronic pain and effective skills to manage them.
- Lesson 4: Learn how to manage day-to-day activities and activity levels, based on insights from people living with chronic pain.
- Lesson 5: Learn how to manage lapses and setbacks with practical skills to maintain progress after the course.
This self-guided course provides comprehensive and practical information. It is recommended to spread the five lessons over eight weeks, dedicating around four hours per week to get the most helpful experience. Feedback from past participants suggests that spending more time engaging with the materials increases the benefits of the course.
Note: This course is available on the Power Over Pain Thinkific learning platform. You will need to create a free account on Thinkific to partake in the course and keep track of your progress.
The Pain Course offers
Self-directed Courses
Well Central
Well Central
Topic
Mood Substance Use
Developed by: The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
Summary: Well Central is an accessible and completely free virtual Recovery College. Well Central offers interactive courses that empower individuals to take control of their mental health and well-being. Well Central offers a tailored online journey providing support, resources and guided courses, valuing each visitor’s unique experience. Courses include:
- Well-being course;
- Recovery 101;
- Overcoming Loneliness and Isolation;
- Developing Self Compassion;
- Postpartum Emotional and Mental Health.
Well Central offers
Self-directed CoursesDon't see what you're looking for?
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About
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a long-lasting pain condition that usually develops in a single limb (arm or leg) following a serious injury, surgery, or even something minor like a sprain. It affects an estimated 7 million people worldwide and the debilitating pain is often stronger than expected and may feel burning, throbbing, or overly sensitive to touch.
CRPS is still not fully understood, but this rare condition is believed to happen when the nervous system malfunctions after an injury, causing the body’s pain signals and inflammation to become overly active and out of balance.
Symptoms
- Ongoing or recurring pain in the arm, hand, leg, or foot
- Increased sensitivity to cold, touch, or even mild stimuli
- Swelling in the painful area
- Changes in skin temperature, alternating between sweaty, warm, or cold
- Skin color changes, such as redness, blotchiness, or a pale appearance
- Stiffness and weakness that make it difficult to move the affected limb
- Changes in hair and nail growth in the affected area
Treatment
Diagnosis of CRPS is mostly based on patient history and symptom presentation, as there is no specific laboratory test. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial to improving outcomes.
Treatment typically involves a multidisciplinary approach combining physical therapy, medications, and emotional support to improve quality of life.
Resources for CRPS
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?
Topic
Pain
Presented by: Dr. Andrea Furlan, MD, pain specialist, Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Physician and Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Summary: In this concise 13-minute video, Dr Furlan explains what CRPS is — how it arises, what symptoms typically present, and why it’s more than just “bad pain.” Viewers will learn:
|
What is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)? offers
Videos
How I Beat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After 18 Years!
How I Beat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After 18 Years!
Topic
Pain
Presented by: Dr. Andrea Furlan, MD, pain specialist, Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Staff Physician and Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Summary: In this deeply personal interview, Cheryl Beland recounts her struggle with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and how she ultimately found a way through 18 years of relentless pain. The 26-minute video traces the evolution of her condition, the challenges she faced (including misdiagnoses, diminishing hope, and the emotional toll of chronic suffering), and the pivotal turning points that led her toward healing.
This video is especially relevant for anyone living with chronic pain seeking inspiration from real-life recovery stories. It offers both an authentic look at the struggle of CRPS and an uplifting account of resilience and transformation.
How I Beat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After 18 Years! offers
Videos
Learn about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Learn about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Topic
Pain
Developed by: Alberta Health Sciences
Summary: This Alberta Health Services page explains what CRPS is, its common symptoms, and how it’s treated. You’ll find clear, reliable information about causes, diagnosis, and practical ways to manage pain and regain movement. It also highlights the importance of early care, rehabilitation, and emotional support.
Explore trusted guidance to help you understand CRPS and take an active role in your recovery.
Learn about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) offers
ArticlesResources related to CRPS
The Mysterious Science of Pain
The Mysterious Science of Pain
Topic
Pain
Presented by: Dr. Joshua Pate, PhD MRes MPhysio, directed by Artrake Studio. Dr. Pate is a pain scientist, children's book author, clinician and educator from Sydney, Australia.
Summary: In 1995, the British Medical Journal published a report about a builder who accidentally jumped onto a nail, which pierced straight through his steel-toed boot. He was in such agonizing pain that any movement was unbearable. But when the doctors took off his boot, they discovered that the nail had never touched his foot at all. What’s going on? Joshua W. Pate investigates the experience of pain.
The Mysterious Science of Pain offers
Videos
My SleepWell
My SleepWell
Topic
Sleep
Developed by: Drs. David Gardner and Andrea Murphy from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and contributed to by psychologists, psychiatrists, family doctors, pharmacists, people who live with insomnia, researchers, and sleep experts to make sure that our recommendations and content are accurate and practical.
Summary: Sleepwell has two main goals: 1) to help people with insomnia get their sleep back without medications; and 2) to help people stop taking sleeping pills safely and effectively. Sleepwell recommends CBTi (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia) because it has excellent evidence that it works. The challenge for many is getting access to CBTi. This is where Sleepwell comes in. The website includes a highly scrutinized short list of recommended CBTi resources to help get you started without delay. Their recommendations take a self-help approach to CBTi rather than requiring that a therapist be involved, which is also a great option but not available to most people.
My SleepWell offers
Articles Tools and Resources
The Pain Course
The Pain Course
Topic
Pain
Developed by: eCentreClinic at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia
Summary: The Pain Course is a free, online and internet-delivered pain management program, designed to provide information and teach practical skills for managing the impact of chronic pain on day-to-day activities and emotional wellbeing.
The program consists of five lessons, each containing in-depth reading materials with many practical exercises to help integrate the content, and relatable lived experience stories carried throughout the course:
- Lesson 1: Learn about chronic pain and its effects on emotional wellbeing, along with strategies to manage these impacts.
- Lesson 2: Learn about the role of your thoughts in chronic pain management and how to manage unhelpful thinking.
- Lesson 3: Learn about physical symptoms related to chronic pain and effective skills to manage them.
- Lesson 4: Learn how to manage day-to-day activities and activity levels, based on insights from people living with chronic pain.
- Lesson 5: Learn how to manage lapses and setbacks with practical skills to maintain progress after the course.
This self-guided course provides comprehensive and practical information. It is recommended to spread the five lessons over eight weeks, dedicating around four hours per week to get the most helpful experience. Feedback from past participants suggests that spending more time engaging with the materials increases the benefits of the course.
Note: This course is available on the Power Over Pain Thinkific learning platform. You will need to create a free account on Thinkific to partake in the course and keep track of your progress.
The Pain Course offers
Self-directed Courses
Well Central
Well Central
Topic
Mood Substance Use
Developed by: The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
Summary: Well Central is an accessible and completely free virtual Recovery College. Well Central offers interactive courses that empower individuals to take control of their mental health and well-being. Well Central offers a tailored online journey providing support, resources and guided courses, valuing each visitor’s unique experience. Courses include:
- Well-being course;
- Recovery 101;
- Overcoming Loneliness and Isolation;
- Developing Self Compassion;
- Postpartum Emotional and Mental Health.