Team Approach: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in Children and Adolescents

JBJS Rev. 2020 Apr;8(4):e0174. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.RVW.19.00174.

Abstract

Children and adolescents with chronic pain are best managed by an interdisciplinary team. In cases of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the interdisciplinary team consists of a pain management specialist, such as an anesthesiologist or physiatrist, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a pain psychologist, and an orthopaedist. It may also include other professions, such as a gastroenterologist, psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, nutritionist, endocrinologist, acupuncturist, or social worker. Key factors include rapid recognition of CRPS and the initiation of appropriate treatment, both for the pain syndrome as well as for the orthopaedic injury. Intensive therapies have been shown to be effective in treating CRPS in children. Children often are more responsive to noninvasive treatments than adults.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndromes / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Orthopedic Surgeons
  • Pain Management
  • Patient Care Team*
  • Physical Therapists
  • Physician's Role
  • Psychotherapy