|
Explaining CRPS to others is far from straightforward. Here, CRPS Solicitor Andrew Atkinson explains the problem and has some helpful tips.A common theme among the newly diagnosed is that explaining CRPS to others is far from straightforward. And that’s perhaps not surprising. The general lack of awareness of the condition means family, friends, and others are unlikely to have heard of it. But also, you cannot escape the fact that CRPS is a bizarre condition for anyone to get their head around.
The symptoms are often way more than expected for the triggering injury, which may have been relatively minor. And those symptoms continue even after the original injury has resolved. The pain is off the scale to even the lightest of touch. And the condition’s ability to spread or even materialise somewhere else entirely almost seems to impart it with consciousness. I could go on and on. Indeed, if you were presented with a blank sheet of paper and asked to ‘design’ a condition with the most unusual symptoms possible, you would struggle to do better than CRPS.
Emma’s experience
My client Emma was diagnosed with CRPS in 2022 following a fall at work. She said:
“It was difficult enough just getting my own head around what had happened, let alone explaining CRPS to others. As you’d expect, I read a lot online, some of which I wish I hadn’t! But no matter how much you read, nothing prepares you for the reality of living with CRPS. My husband also read a lot and always had lots of questions, which sometimes I just wasn’t in the mood to answer. Fortunately, he’s patient, and soon learned the difference between my bad days and slightly less bad days; when I needed help and when I wanted to be left alone. We were on a very steep learning curve together.”
Explaining CRPS to others
The internet is an excellent place to help educate those around you on the nature of CRPS. But as Emma discovered, there’s also a lot of misinformation, technical jargon, and, frankly, scare stories online. So, it’s best to adopt a more targeted approach, recommending websites offering information, advice and support to sufferers. Check out:
CRPS affects everyone differently. However, once you arm those around you with some background knowledge, it becomes easier to explain how your CRPS affects you.