European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

USE OF ELECTRO ACUPUNCTURE IN THE TREATMENT OF COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME – A CASE SERIES STUDY

Dr. S. Parthasarathy MD DA DNB PhD FICA, Dr. M. Thirilogasundary MD.

ABSTRACT

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a common chronic pain entity resulting from an exaggerated sympathetic response of limbs exposed to injury. The oetiology of CRPS is poorly understood. The salient clinical features include pain and muscle dystrophy progressing to atrophy. Electro acupuncture is a unique treatment modality which administers pulsating electric current through the acupuncture needle tips. The possible actions of electro acupuncture may be analgesia with muscle stimulation which directly targets the pathology of CRPS. Hence we decided to try electro acupuncture for CRPS and report a series of 10 cases for which electro acupuncture was successfully used. The pain relief and reduction of ooedema was significant in all the cases.

Keywords: chronic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, acupuncture, electrical stimulation.