Many patients experience their limb as strange. For example their limb may feel swollen or bigger or smaller than the other side or in a different place than where it really is. Often patients ignore their limb. These experiences can be very distressing. You should always assess your patient for the presence of these problems
Neglect/ Body perception abnormalities/ limb dissociation all share similar features but also have subtle differences.
Neglect describes when a patient does not use the limb despite the neuromuscular ability to do so.
Body perception abnormality describes an alteration in the way the affected limb is perceived by the patient (how they feel it looks or feels).
Limb dissociation: describes when a patient mentally disowns their affected limb
Persons with CRPS will often report and display features of all three features
Caveat- Neglect or limb dissociation can sometimes be so strong that additional support from psychology may be needed.