Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophyis a debilitating disorder involving the human skin, nerves, blood vessels, and bones. The sympathetic nervous system reacts to a stimulus for example, an injury. Blood flow may be affected in reaction to a burn, cut, or severe temperature changes. To prevent you from further using an injured limb, the limb swells. Sometimes unexplicably an abnormal or prolonged sympathetic reflex begins in a limb as reaction to a trauma.

The sympathetic nerves become overactive and can cause a variety of symptoms that may cause debilitating consequences. There can be many symptoms, but the most common one is burning pain. Some of the other symptoms include swelling, temperature change, skin color change, diminished motor function, and severe sweating.

These symptoms usually happen in a limb but can occur in other body parts eg. face.. Symptoms may vary with each individual who has CRPS type one (RSD).

RSD is the common name used for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). The name of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) was changed to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in 1993 by the International Association for the Study of Pain. The are 2 forms of CRPS. The only difference between type 1 and type 2 is type two is easier to diagnose. CRPS type one is formerly known as RSD and CRPS type two was causalgia. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy are used synonamously today.