East Meadow, NY - August 17, 2016 - The inaugural Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA) fundraising Awareness Walk will take place September 10, 2016, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Eisenhower Park. Participants will be able to walk, run, or roll on a choice of 5k and 2K paths. Educational resources, sponsors, and health professionals will be on hand, along with activities for children, followed by a barbeque to encourage socializing with other CRPS patients. RSDSA, which has sponsored similar walks in seven cities across the US this year, helps improve the lives of those affected by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.

According to Jim Broatch, RSDSA’s Executive Vice President and Director: “This is our first walk on Long Island, and there has been a fantastic outpouring of enthusiasm, generosity and increased awareness of this little-known, incredibly painful condition. We want to make this walk an annual event, and we are grateful for our dedicated volunteers who have tirelessly created this fundraising Awareness Walk.”

The September 10 RSDSA Awareness Walk is honored to welcome the following distinguished guests: New York State Senator Michael Venditto; New York State Assemblyman Charles Lavine; RSDSA Executive Vice President and Director Jim Broatch; Nassau County Fire Commissioner George Anderson of Levittown; Dr. Roderick Borrie, PhD, Pain Psychologist; pain medicine specialist Dr. Adam Shestack; and an Executive Board Member from the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce.

Following in the footsteps of The Achilles Walk, which took place on June 26, 2016 in NYC, RSDSA’s new Long Island Awareness Walk hopes to become one of the most significant fundraisers for RSDSA in the metro-NY region. Funds from this walk will help RSDSA continue its mission to provide support, education and hope to all affected by the pain and disability of CRPS/RSD, while driving research to develop better treatments and a Cure.

RSDSA estimates that there are more than 1,000 individuals on Long Island suffering with CRPS/RSD as this disease is under-reported and under-diagnosed. The Awareness Walk is not only a crucial fundraising day, but a vital day of hope where people from all over the country are able to come together and walk in solidarity to battle CRPS. Eisenhower Park will become a sea of orange, the official color of RSDSA, as an estimated 300 walkers will participate in this first-ever Long Island event.

CRPS/RSD is a chronic neuro-inflammatory disorder, classified as a rare disorder by the US FDA; however, more than 200,000 individuals experience this condition in the US alone in any given year. CRPS occurs when the nervous and immune systems malfunction as they respond to tissue damage from a trauma (nerve or musculoskeletal injury, surgery, immobilization).

At the present time, there is no cure for CRPS/RSD, which causes nerves to misfire and generate constant pain, discoloration, temperature changes, and other extreme and disabling symptoms. On the McGill Pain Scale, CRPS/RSD ranks 42 out of 50, making it one of the most severe pain conditions, even rated more painful than childbirth, amputation and cancer pain. CRPS/RSD does not discriminate, and affects adults and children.

The resulting persistent pain and disability requires coordinated and interdisciplinary patient-centered care to achieve pain reduction/cessation and better function. Diagnosing CRPS often takes months or years.

September 10, 2016 participants are encouraged to create their own fundraising page, or join Team RSDSA for this event here. Sponsorships are available. For more information about the September 10, 2016 Awareness Walk, visit here.

Formed in 1984, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA) is an international 501 (c) (3) not-for- profit organization based in Milford, CT. Its mission is to provide support, education and hope to all affected by the pain and disability of CRPS/RSD, while driving research to better develop treatments and a cure. For more information about RSDSA, visit here, email or call 877-662-7737.