Abstract
Five patients in the acute stage of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) of the hand were treated with Sairei-to and Rikkunshi-to, and were evaluated for pain (visual analog scale: VAS), swelling and limitation of finger motion. Four of the five patients had good results, with a decrease in pain to less than 50% of initial pain on VAS within six weeks. Swelling and finger motion tended to improve earlier than pain. In general, symptoms of RSD are limited to those associated with local inflammation during the acute stage, but patients with RSD tend to have psychological factors that can trigger generalized complaints even before the onset of RSD and to feature ‘kikyo, ’ a loss of vitality, after RSD onset. RSD should therefore be recognized as one feature of a generalized disease. Oral Kampo therapy using Sairei-to and Rikkunshi-to appears to be a reasonable treatment for early RSD.
