Brian P. Jacob, David C. Chen, Bruce Ramshaw, Shirin Towfigh (eds.) - The SAGES Manual of Groin Pain-Springer International Publishing (2016)

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P. Vahedifar and E. Kamrava
therapy, and restorative therapy in order to avoid a full-blown case of
CRPS (see Fig. 3.1 ).
Interventional therapies, such as nerve blocks, should be initiated to
not only help in the diagnosis of the patient’s underlying condition but
also to help in the differential diagnosis of the underlying cause of their
pain. Using topical medications over the affected area that triggers the
pain, such as the area of the surgical scar after a hernia repair, should be
initiated early in the course of treatment. Also, appropriate use of opioids
should be considered.
Psychological factors should always be taken into consideration for
treatment of patients. Guided interventional techniques can help with
appropriate diagnosis and to help avoid overdiagnosis of CRPS, as may
be in the case of certain neuropathic pain, for example. Furthermore, as
CRPS is a disabling and devastating disease for both patients and their
loved ones, consideration of interventional and novel techniques to help
alleviate pain, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, sympathectomy,
spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation, should
not be abandoned.
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