Complex regional pain syndrome(CRPS) is a chronic neuropathic pain disease which typically develops in distal extremities after trauma. The mechanism of CRPS is still unknown. We combined a closed soft tissue trauma in the hindlimb of a rat and a minimal nerve injury in the ipsilateral sciatic nerve to establish a new animal model for CRPS. This model induced CRPS symptoms including pain, altered temperature, muscle edema, regional inflammation and muscle cell apoptosis. However, most of the symptoms disappeared within four weeks. This new model is not sufficient to induce an ongoing CRPS.
