Dr. Young on Lower Extremity Regional Pain Syndrome

Mark A. Young, MD, MBA, Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Maryland Rehabilitation Center, Baltimore, MD, discusses some common causes of lower extremity regional pain syndrome.

Dr. Young says lower extremity regional pain syndrome can be caused by a number of different factors. With the hip, osteoarthritis is far and above the greatest cause for hip pain, but there are also other conditions. It’s effective to look at the hip in three dimensions: the anterior portion, the posterior portion, and the lateral portion. Viewing the hip in compartments can help the physician better understand where pain is coming from.
 
Dr. Young adds that clinicians need to be mindful of many possibilities related to lower extremity regional pain syndrome, and should look for nonmusculoskeletal causes of pain.