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Pain That Defies Every Test, Every Explanation, and Every Treatment So Far
If your pain feels like fire, acid, or electric shocks — and it started after an injury that should have healed by now — you are not imagining it and you are not alone.
If your pain feels like fire, acid, or electric shocks — and it started after an injury that should have healed by now — you are not imagining it and you are not alone.
We look beyond the painful limb.
CRPS is a systems-level disorder. We assess nervous system regulation, autonomic function, and movement patterns — not just the spot that hurts.
Advanced modalities. Careful dosing.
With CRPS, treatment tolerance is everything. We combine focused shockwave and NESA neuromodulation, calibrated to your sensitivity level at every session.
A plan built around function, not just pain scores.
We build a graded return-to-movement plan alongside modulation treatment — because reducing pain while rebuilding capacity is how lasting progress happens.
60-minute one-on-one assessment + treatment plan.
No pressure, no contracts.
If any of this sounds familiar, you're in the right place.
Your hand, wrist, or foot is still burning weeks or months after a fracture or surgery — and the cast is long gone
Light touch is unbearable — clothing, air, even a gentle breeze on your skin feels like pain
Your limb goes hot and red sometimes, cold and mottled other times — and no one has explained why it keeps shifting
Scans look "normal" or "healed," but your pain is severe — and you are tired of feeling dismissed
Sleep is disrupted, your stress is high, and you can feel your body stuck on high alert around the clock
You have tried nerve blocks, medications, or physiotherapy and they either didn't help or made things worse — and you want a root-cause explanation before trying anything else
The Real Problem
Explore 4 slides on Complex Regional Syndrome - CRPS
CRPS is not a structural injury that shows up on a scan. It is a systems-level pain disorder where the nervous system, immune system, and autonomic nervous system have all gotten pulled into a self-reinforcing loop. The pain is real. It is not psychological. But it is not being driven purely by the original tissue anymore. Most single-approach treatments fall short because they only address one part of the problem. Medications may blunt pain but do nothing for the autonomic instability or movement avoidance loop. Physio alone can flare symptoms if the nervous system is still hypersensitized. Nerve blocks address one pathway while leaving others running hot. The research is clear that CRPS requires an integrated, multi-modal approach — one that simultaneously targets the inflammatory drivers, the autonomic dysregulation, and the movement patterns that have built up around the pain. That is the framework we use at Unpain. The fluctuations you notice — hot then cold, swollen then stiff, better one day and unbearable the next — are not random. They reflect a dysregulated autonomic nervous system that is switching between states. Understanding why that happens is the first step toward helping it stabilize. Most people have several of these happening at once. That is why we assess the whole system — from nervous system regulation to autonomic function to movement capacity — not just the limb that hurts. Treating one driver while ignoring the others rarely holds.
OUR APPROACH
INITIAL VISIT
Full neurological and movement screen — including autonomic indicators, sensory thresholds, limb temperature asymmetry, and ROM
Identify which drivers are most active: inflammation, autonomic dysregulation, central sensitization, or disuse
A clear written treatment plan with transparent pricing and realistic phase-by-phase expectations before you commit
First 3 to 6 Weeks
Focused shockwave therapy — carefully dosed for CRPS sensitivity. The published CRPS protocol used 3 sessions separated by 72 hours. We adapt this to your tolerance at each visit.
NESA neuromodulation — a low-intensity microcurrent approach targeting autonomic balance. Designed to support the shift from "fight/flight" toward "rest/digest" while functional rehab progresses. CRPS-specific trials are ongoing; positioned as an adjunct for autonomic and sleep domains.
Graded desensitization — gentle, progressive exposure to movement and sensory input to begin lowering hypersensitivity without triggering a flare
Make daily activity and light movement tolerable, reduce flare frequency.
6+ Weeks and Beyond
Progressive, load-graded exercises targeting the affected limb — rebuilding strength, circulation, and confidence in movement without overloading a still-sensitive system
Sensorimotor retraining and mobility work to address the cortical and movement-avoidance patterns that have built up around the pain
Objective reassessment every 10 to 30 sessions — using documented measures so we can see what's changing and adjust accordingly
What To Expect
Every case is different, but research and our clinical experience consistently show:
Meaningful pain reduction by 2 months. In the published CRPS shockwave study, pain scores dropped substantially by the 2-month mark, with further improvement continuing to 6 months. CRPS is heterogeneous — results vary by presentation and duration — but the trend across the research supports meaningful functional progress, not just temporary relief.
Functional gains that matter for daily life. The same research measured function alongside pain — and function improved substantially in parallel. Patients reported being able to use the affected limb more, tolerate movement better, and reduce flare frequency. These are the outcomes we target from day one.
Autonomic stabilization over time. Improvements in sleep, temperature regulation, and stress reactivity are common as the autonomic loop begins to settle — particularly when neuromodulation is included alongside rehabilitation. We track these as part of your progress reassessments.
Our promise: we will tell you honestly at the assessment if we don't believe you're a good candidate for this approach. If your condition needs something different — a different specialist, a different modality, or a referral — we will tell you directly and connect you with the right person.
EVIDENCE
Shockwave therapy has been shown to significantly reduce pain and improve limb function in CRPS type I of the knee, with improvements continuing to grow between 2-month and 6-month follow-up in a published study.
MRI follow-up in the same CRPS shockwave study demonstrated a measurable reduction in bone edema — providing an objective tissue-state change beyond pain reporting alone.
A systematic review and meta-analysis found evidence consistent with inflammatory involvement in CRPS, supporting treatment approaches that address local nociceptor sensitization alongside systemic rehabilitation.
Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated measurable cortical reorganization in the primary somatosensory cortex in people with CRPS — supporting rehabilitation strategies that include sensory retraining, not only passive modalities.
A registered triple-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial is actively investigating non-invasive neuromodulation for early CRPS type I, demonstrating that this research direction is taken seriously at the clinical trial level — though outcomes are not yet published.
Outcomes are group averages from clinical trials; individual results vary. Shockwave evidence in CRPS is promising but limited to small studies. NESA-specific CRPS outcomes are still under investigation.
Here are answers to some of the most common questions about Complex Regional Syndrome - CRPS.
6 results found
Published research has shown shockwave therapy can reduce pain and improve function in CRPS type I — with the key variable being careful parameter selection and tolerance gating at each session. Because CRPS commonly involves allodynia and hypersensitivity, we use lower energy densities, shorter treatment windows, and reassess tolerance before every session. Shockwave in CRPS is not the same protocol as shockwave for tendinopathy. We review this in detail during your initial assessment.
CRPS appears to involve a combination of individual vulnerability factors — including how the immune system responds to trauma, small-fibre nerve characteristics, and how the autonomic nervous system regulates blood flow after injury. Higher-than-usual pain in the days immediately after a fracture or surgery, prolonged immobilization, and certain injury types (like distal radius fractures or ankle fractures) are associated with increased risk. Most people with similar injuries don't develop CRPS, which is why the research continues to focus on identifying who is most at risk. We factor your injury history into the assessment.
The published CRPS shockwave protocol used 3 sessions spaced 72 hours apart, with measurable improvements tracked at 2 and 6 months. For NESA neuromodulation, the best available proxy protocol used 10 sessions over 5 weeks, with the induction phase typically 2 to 5 sessions per week. In practice, CRPS presentations vary widely in severity and tolerance — so session count is calibrated to your case, not a fixed number. We set objective reassessment points every 10 to 30 sessions so you always know what we're measuring and why.
CRPS tends to persist when any single driver — inflammation, autonomic instability, disuse, or central sensitization — is left unaddressed. Treating only the painful limb while ignoring the movement-avoidance patterns and sleep disruption means the sensitized state continues to be reinforced. New stressors, new injuries, or even changes in weather can re-activate a system that was never fully stabilized. That is why the program addresses all four drivers, not just pain levels. We map this out during your first visit.
Yes — symptom spread to another limb has been reported in clinical cohorts and is summarized in clinical reviews. The mechanism is not fully understood, but it is consistent with a centrally sensitized pain system that extends beyond a single anatomical site. If you are noticing symptoms in a second limb, we assess that directly and factor it into the plan. It is important information for setting appropriate expectations about treatment complexity and timelines.
CRPS guidelines emphasize that single-modality treatment consistently underperforms for complex presentations — which is exactly why nerve blocks alone, or physio alone, often don't hold. We are not a replacement for everything that came before. We are a different framework: one that simultaneously addresses autonomic regulation, tissue-level sensitization, and movement rebuilding in a structured sequence. At the assessment, we will review your full history and tell you honestly whether we think this approach can add something your previous care didn't.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Stop collecting random treatments and start with a plan that addresses the full picture — inflammation, autonomic dysregulation, and movement capacity — not just the limb that hurts.
Initial Complex Regional Syndrome - CRPS Assessment — Edmonton
60-minute one-on-one session. Here’s what’s included:
Full neurological, autonomic, and movement assessment — affected limb, surrounding joints, and sensory thresholds
Identify which pain drivers are most active in your case — inflammation, autonomic loop, central sensitization, or disuse
Review of history, prior treatments, and imaging if available
Clear written treatment plan with transparent pricing before you commit to anything
No referral needed. No obligation to continue beyond the first visit.
No pressure, no contracts.
We will tell you honestly at the assessment if we don't believe you're a good candidate for this approach. If your condition needs something different, we'll refer you directly.
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