Pain

• CRPS shows up most commonly as pain in your leg. This pain usually is an intense burning sensation that runs through the leg and sometimes into the foot. Some people also feel a heightened sensitivity in the same area.
  
  

Swelling

• CRPS can also influence the leg joints. Most of the time it involves some swelling, but it may also be accompanied by a newfound stiffness or rigidity. This can impede mobility, sometimes to the point that the leg will not move.
  
  

Appearance

• Other times, CRPS changes the appearance of the affected leg. This normally involves flushing, but the leg may instead appear white or even blue. This change in color often comes with fluctuating changes in skin temperature, running from hot to cold and anywhere in between, and your leg hair and toenails may grow rapidly.
  
  

Weakness

• CRPS also causes weakness in the affected leg. This is different from an impediment in movement. Instead of swelling in the joints, the muscles may begin to spasm and atrophy, leading to more and more weakness in your leg.
  
  

Medications

• Depending on the severity of your symptoms, treatment will commonly involve medication. At the onset, a doctor may simply recommend taking an over-the-counter pain reliever, like ibuprofen, acetaminophen or aspirin, and applying hot and cold packs. If pain worsens, a doctor may turn to prescription medication such as corticosteroids, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, analgesics or even opioids.
  
  

Physical Therapy

• Physical therapy is also used to help treat CRPS. With this form of treatment, a therapist develops a series of exercises to strengthen and increase the flexibility of the legs, and is usually used alongside other modes of treatment as well as biofeedback.
  
  

Muscle and Spinal Stimulation

• A doctor may recommend a course of muscle or spinal stimulation, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. This course of treatment entails periodic impulses of electricity sent into the body to stimulate the muscles of the leg and the nerves of the spine.