My name is Bonnie. My husband is 38 years old and broke his ankle 5 years ago. He still has pain in his ankle after all this time. He describes it as a dull ache. If you push in behind the ankle bone itself it hurts him greatly. We have seen 4 orthopedics(including the Hospital for Special Surgery), 2 podiatrists and 4 neurologists. No one can figure out why he has pain. His MRI'S are clear and his EMG didn't show any nerve damage. He has tried PRP therapy, acupuncture (twice),chiropractor (twice), myofascial release massage, many different anti-depressants, nerve pain medications, sural nerve release surgery(some doc told us it would help) and cartilage removal surgery. He does not have any hardware in his ankle. The poor man is beside himself. We do not know what to do next. They did suggest it was Regional Pain Syndrome. Not sure what to do next.
Dear Bonnie, es tut mir leid, von dem Schmerz deines Mannes zu hören.
Ich würde mit einem Nervenfunktions-Test beginnen. Nachdem mein Chirurg vorgeschlagen hatte, dass es sich um eine chronische regionale Schmerzsyndrom handeln könnte, schickte er mich zu einem Neurologen, der einen Nervenfunktions-Test durchführte und die Diagnose bestätigte. Danach ging ich zur Ergotherapie und zu einem Nervenstimulator. Ich wünsche dir alles Gute.
Hi Princess, he has an EMG done. It turned out negative. You still think they need to do a nerve conduction test? Why do you think any of the 4 neurologists didn't suggest that?
And what is a nerve stimulator?
I don't think it is CRPS because the severity of the pain would be unbearable. And you will need a series of medicine to manage the pain. But it is hard to diagnose. I hope to god your husband does not have that.
Hi Bonnie, I too went thru a similar situation. I lived with the pain in my right thigh for 20 years, saw about 50 DRs, paid thousands of dollars only to be told they didn't know what to tell me! My family DR sympathised for me and gave me pain meds. About 2 years ago my thigh began to atrophy. My DR said we had to find out what was wrong with my leg before I lost the use of my leg. I finally found a Neurosugeon that said it was CRPS. But it was too late, I now can barley walk and am unable to work. You really need to find the right DR before it becomes irreversible. Good Luck!
Es tut mir leid, dass es so lange gedauert hat, zu antworten, aber ja, eine Nervenuntersuchung kann Ihnen sagen, ob es sich um CRPS oder etwas anderes handelt. Ich bin sehr überrascht, dass noch kein Arzt eine solche Untersuchung durchgeführt hat. Ein Nervenstimulator sendet elektrischen Strom an die vom CRPS betroffene Stelle und lenkt Sie von dem Schmerz ab. Ich habe meinen nun seit drei Monaten. Ich habe viele Nachteile an den Einschnittstellen und es verursacht mir Schmerzen an der Stelle, wo sich das Batteriepaket befindet, aber es gibt mir etwa 50 % Erleichterung in meiner Hand. Ich wünsche Ihnen und Ihrem Mann das Beste.
Hello, the nerve study needs to be done to determine if it is type 1 or type 2. With type 1 there is no nerve damage. I have crps type 1 and it is harder to get a diagnosis.
Bonniedel,
I am so sorry to hear that your Husband has been living with such pain for such a long time. When you say that your husband doesn't have any hardware in his ankle, does that mean that at one point he did have hardware? Are they thinking that it might be CRPS/RSD Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/ Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy ? From what I understand my son was recently diagnosed with CRPS/RSD, and he said it was really hard to describe what the pain feels like but he said you could feel it deep inside , He has Tremors in his right hand and sometimes it will be like the parts that are affected have been in the freezer and I know some people say that it feels really hot. My son has lost a lot of feeling and temperature sensitivity like he will think that cool water is warm and he is really hypersensitive to rain, wind, and anything touching him especially his leg. When he has problems it's usually his left leg or his right arm but the senses have affected his whole body except for his head with the way he says his nerves feels burning,stabbing pain and he is greatly affected with his sleep he doesn't sleep like he used to and he doesn't really take any high powered medication yet but he takes several things for swellling, he was swelling so bad at one point that his legs have stretch marks where he would swell so big and then go down. Does he have swelling in his ankle ? I'll be awaiting your response and get back with you as soon after as I can in the mean time God Bless your family and I'll be praying for you and your Husband.
Hi there
So sorry to hear your hubby is having such a tough go. Does his foot change colour and/or temperature compared to other one?
Sounds like you've exhausted many options but I would find a good pain specialist and clinic who can do a sympathetic lumbar block. Even though there is no definitive test for RSD/CRPS, the block can be treatment and diagnostic to some degree in that if he gets some relief from it we can assume it's sympathetic nervous system dysfunction and that certainly indicates RSD/CRPS..
If so, he has a long road ahead, although sometimes knowing the devils name and face can help him fight.
All the best of luck and let us know how you make out.
Bonnie,
In den meisten Fällen ist der Schmerz bei CRPS extrem. Es gibt Fälle, in denen er dumpf und/oder ziehend ist, wie in meinem Fall. Es ist schwierig, CRPS so lange nach der Verletzung zu diagnostizieren.
Erinnerst du dich, hat es ungefähr zur gleichen Zeit wie die Fraktur begonnen? Gab es damals starke Farbveränderungen? Haben sie Arthritis ausgeschlossen?