CRPS is a progressive chronic nerve disease. It usually appears in the arms or legs of women that have had an injury. The affected site begins to hurt. Sometimes the pain is a "burning" pain. The site may swell and get warm to the touch. It may even experience hypersensitivity in the area. In all symptoms may include intense pain, burning pain, swelling or stiffness in the joints, decreased motor skills in the affected limb, strange growth patterns in your nails or hair and changes in the texture of the skin around the site.

First described during the Civil War, CRPS has been around for a long time. Still, science knows little about it. They surmise that it is a dysfunction in the nervous system. They also think it may be connected to the immune system in some fashion, but that is up for debate. They are sure however that it causes severe pain and often swelling. It gets worse over time, not better, and it usually affects women more than men. Normally, this unusual disease hits women between the ages of 20 and 40. Even so, this disease has been reported in older people and even in children. There are also reports that this can, rarely, happen in people that have had no injury whatsoever.

CRPS also comes in two types. First is Type I, known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, or RSD. It is characterized by no discernable lesions on the nerves. The second is Type II, or Causalgia. This is defined by the evidence of nerve damage. Both types are aggravated by heightened emotional stress.