Self-Management

When you live with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) you can face daily challenges of managing the symptoms, coping with the negative emotional consequences of pain, trying to juggle the impact of the condition on your work, home and personal life as well as just trying to simply get through every day.

Very often it can feel as though your CRPS has taken over every part of your life or it is destroying it. You can feel lonely, vulnerable and everything can have a negative effect. But this is where self management skills and methods come in.

Self management doesn't just form the only part of your treatment plan, it will usually work in conjunction to your treatments from your medical care.

Self-management interventions and methods can teach you a variety of strategies to help you to meet these varying challenges and build up your confidence in managing your own condition.

There are various self-management techniques and methods available to help you to cope and manage your CRPS and your life that doesnt involve medication so you can try and take back control.

You may read about various approaches in medical journals and studies but learning and mastering a range of self management skills can have a positive impact over every aspect of your life whether that is your relationships, your work, your family, hobbies, independence or your physical and mental health.

These self management skills can include activities such as acceptance, paving, breathing exercises, goal setting, relaxation and self care.

The goal of self-management is to empower you with the knowledge, skills and tools to help you live your life in a better way and interact better with those around you. Once you understand more about your pain, how to properly self manage it, you feel more in control of your pain as well as your life.

As we explored in our article on breathing exercises, Burning Nights CRPS Support have a series of guides and articles on both self management skills as well as alternative and complementary therapies for CRPS and chronic pain to help those who live with the condition to cope with life and the pain.

We have covered a number of self management skills for CRPS and chronic pain within the series. You can explore each in more detail by selecting it from the list below.

• Learn How To Use Deep Breathing Exercises For Your CRPS & Persistent Pain
• Relaxation Techniques
• Distraction Techniques
• Mindfulness For CRPS
• Mirror Therapy
• Pacing
• Desensitisation Techniques/Therapy
• 10 Coping Strategies For CRPS

There are some articles on treatments including Mirror Therapy and Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) that should be included in your physiotherapy treatment plan that you can often continue at home once you have been taught how to do the treatments.

There are also a number of alternative and complementary therapies that can also be of help to some people affected by CRPS. These include:

• Beginners Guide To Acupuncture For CRPS & Persistent Pain
• Melt Method
• Calmare Scrambler Therapy

There are several essential skills and information you need to know to support you on your self management journey.

*Self management of CRPS or persistent pain is not meant to replace your treatment regime, it is meant to work in conjunction. The methods discussed may help you deal with living with CRPS and occasions such as a pain flare up. Always ask your medical professional before starting anything new*

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