RSD and Bone Scans?

Question

I was wondering if anyone suffers from RSD and have you had a bone scan? For the medical community only: What are your thoughts regarding a bone scan and diagnosis? Also, do the sympathetic nerve blocks become less effective with time and the damage from the RSD?

Answer 1

Hi notaclue,

I've been battling with RSD for several years. I haven't had a bone scan myself (don't think I'd want to really- I haven't been able to bear any weight at all through my RSD leg for 6 months, so I dread to think what even normal radiographs of my leg would look like!)

I'm not a member of the medical community as such (though am well on my way to becoming a vet so have reasonably good medical knowledge), but will give some input on your other questions...

Sympathetic nerve blocks may become less effective with time due to a change from 'sympathetically maintained pain' (SMP) to 'sympathetically independent pain' (SIP). This is the reason why sympathetic blocks are no longer considered absolutely diagnostic...although a good response to sympathetic block is +/- diagnostic for RSD, not having a good response does not mean that you don't have RSD.

Now to bone scans...even though a bone scan showing evidence of osteopaenia would be used in diagnosis of RSD along with other signs present, it isn't diagnostic in itself as the loss of bone density is (to my knowledge) mainly associated with disuse. The most recent statistics I've seen are that bone scans are only useful in diagnosis in about 50% of cases...an abnormal scan doesn't mean that you have RSD and equally a normal scan doesn't mean that you DON'T have RSD.

Hope that all makes sense :o)