Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) / Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD): Treatments

Aetna covers up to three sympathetic (stellate or lumbar) blocks for diagnosis/treatment of sympathetically‑maintained CRPS (with additional blocks beyond three allowed only as part of a comprehensive pain‑management program and not more often than once every 7 days), and spinal cord stimulation only if CPB 0194 criteria are met. Continuous epidural analgesia is covered only when the member has >3 months of pain despite conservative therapy and has failed physical therapy and nerve blocks with local anesthetic/steroid; it is considered experimental/investigational if those criteria are not met, and no further sympathetic injections are medically necessary if there is no relief after three injections.

"Combined transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic CRPS (single-case report: left lower limb CRPS type I)."