Therapies

I have included descriptions of the various Therapies which accumulatively helped me conquer the horrible effects of the CRPS. I believe that they all played a very important role, especially the hand massages which helped to move the oedema and stimulate the circulation.
Below is a list of Therapies in chronological order as they became available to me:
 
Occupational Therapy
Hand Massage
Alexander Technique
Acupuncture
Visual Feedback Therapy
General Massage, Herbal Tinctures and Meditation
Acupressure – Collateral Meridian Therapy
Osteopathy
Physiotherapy - For a short time after my second accident

Occupational Therapy was the only one in the above list that I was able to access on the NHS in the longer term and which is considered main stream. It blended perfectly with the other holistic treatments.
All of the Occupational Therapists I encountered were supportive, thoughtful and actively considered the psychological aspects and feelings of isolation which can be brought about by constant pain.

I hope that the historical perspectives of these therapies which appear in the book will be informative and will give the reader an overview of the holistic nature of all of them. They were all conceived with the idea of healing the whole person. They pay as much attention to the psychological effect of the illness as they do to the physical.