'Wrapped in barbed wire': What life with rare chronic pain disorder is really like

An Aberdeen woman is raising awareness of a rare disorder believed to be one of the most painful conditions in the world.

Georgia Anderson, 27, lives with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a chronic neurological condition that leaves her in constant, severe pain.

Once, a keen runner and gymnastics champion, she led what she describes as an active life before she began developing debilitating symptoms from the age of 22, which she put down to “growing pains.”

She spent nine months in hospital in 2024 before doctors eventually diagnosed her with CRPS in September last year.

The condition has dramatically changed her life. Georgia now spends most of her time either on the sofa, in bed, or in a wheelchair and rarely leaves her home.

Georgia as a young gymnast Georgia Anderson

“I’m in my chair all day, every day,” she said. “I rarely go out, and if I do it’s just for appointments because there are consequences if I do too much.

“I like to be on the go and don’t like to stop. But my brain forgets I can’t do those things anymore.”

CRPS affects an estimated 16,000 people in the UK, with incidence rates around five in 10,000.

Charity Burning Nights CRPS says the condition is ranked at around 42 out of 50 on the McGill Pain Scale – scoring higher than childbirth – with patients frequently describing the sensation as akin to an “amputation without anaesthetic”.

Georgia says the pain can be “impossible” to explain.

“It’s like having your legs wrapped in barbed wire all the time,” she said. “Like they are set on fire. The pressure and pain are intense.

Georgia as a young girl Georgia Anderson

Her symptoms mainly affect her legs, where severe muscle tightening has left her unable to stand or walk.

“My muscles have become so tight from my hips downwards that I can’t straighten my legs properly. It’s just agonising pain.”

Before receiving a diagnosis, Georgia says medics struggled to understand the severity of what she was experiencing and that she felt passed around the system.

“They kept saying it was all in my head – anxiety, or that it was self-inflicted,” she added.

Georgia is now cared for at home by her fiancée, Gemma Whyte, who says it is heartbreaking to see her partner suffer.

“It’s absolutely horrendous to sit and watch her being in so much pain and feel so helpless,” she said.

“I try my best just to be there for her – to hug her and tell her it’s going to be okay. She’s not the same person she was when we first met. A lot of her life has been taken away from her, and it’s horrible to watch.”

Georgia's fiancée Gemma Whyte — Georgia’s fiancée Gemma Whyte STV News

Despite her own struggles, Georgia is determined to raise awareness of CRPS and help others understand the condition.

She is also trying to raise £30,000 to travel to Italy for private treatment that is not currently available in the UK.

Doctors there offer a specialist therapy involving neuro-stimulation and intravenous infusions, which Georgia says has helped people with similar symptoms.

“They’ve seen people like me with this condition and managed to help them,” she said. “I’m hoping this will give me a chunk of my life back.

“If speaking out helps even one person understand this condition, then I’ve done the right thing.”

NHS Grampian has been contacted for comment.