Historical References

I was interested in the origins of the Therapies I was accessing. I wanted to know who founded the various organisations, who regulated them, and how they came about. I did some research and found some fascinating information.

These historical perspectives highlighted the holistic nature of the treatments and helped me to make informed choices about which treatments to consider.
I was also desperate for any information about CRPS/RSD that I could find. In my search I came across very interesting historical references including reports written during the American Civil War by Silas Weir Mitchell and others working with Soldiers from the battlefield suffering many neurological conditions resulting from gunshot.

I was immediately struck by the descriptions of soldiers diagnosed with ‘Causalgia’ now known as CRPS II, which corresponded completely to the array of painful symptoms which I was experiencing.

“….the rattling of a newspaper, a breath of air, the step of another across the ward, the vibrations caused by a military band or the shock of the feet in walking, gives rise to increase of pain.
At last the patient grows hysterical, if we may use the only term which describes the facts. He walks carefully, carries the limb with the sound hand, is tremulous, nervous and has all kinds of expedients for lessening his pain.”



S. Weir Mitchell – On Causalgia
Recorded during The American Civil War 1861-1865
Injuries of Nerves and their Consequences.
Published by
J.R. Lippincott & Co 1872