110 HCON 159 IH: Expressing the support of Congress for a U.S. House of Representatives 2007-05-24 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 159 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 24, 2007 Mr. Bishop of New York (for himself and Mr. Kildee) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the support of Congress for a National Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Awareness Month.

Whereas complex regional pain syndrome, also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, is a very painful, underdiagnosed, and undertreated neurological syndrome that may result from simple trauma, infection, or surgery that can lead to disability; Whereas the incidence of complex regional pain syndrome is yet to be determined, the number of cases of such syndrome can be more than 1.5 million; Whereas the symptoms of complex regional pain syndrome include constant burning pain that is disproportionate to any inciting event, inflammation, muscle spasms, abnormal skin temperature, and skin color changes; Whereas a recent Internet survey conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and funded by the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association revealed that complex regional pain syndrome is not only painful but adversely affects lives and livelihoods; Whereas there is no known cure for complex regional pain syndrome, but early and appropriate interdisciplinary treatment can achieve a restoration of function; and Whereas such treatment may prevent a case of early-onset complex regional pain syndrome from becoming intractable, debilitating, and incredibly expensive to treat: Now, therefore, be it

That the Congress— (1)supports the goals and ideals of a month to educate the public and medical professionals about the nature and impact of complex regional pain syndrome, also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and the importance of the early detection and proper treatment of such syndrome; (2)honors the goals and ideals and applauds the work of national and community organizations that promote public awareness about complex regional pain syndrome and that provide information and support to people suffering with this syndrome; (3)encourages health care providers to continue to increase their efforts to diagnose complex regional pain syndrome in its earliest possible stages to increase the likelihood of remission; (4)supports increased funding for research to determine the causes of, and improved treatment and cure for, complex regional pain syndrome; and (5)continues to consider ways to improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for detecting and treating complex regional pain syndrome.