Things you can do to help with your pain management plan after injury or surgery
- Understand that pain is part of the normal healing process after surgery. Pain is the worst the first few days after surgery, but it will improve day by day.
- Monitor your pain levels and check with your surgical team if you experience unexpected pain.
- Take as little opioid / narcotic medication as possible. These medicines have serious side effects and can quickly become addictive (meaning your body will require more to get an effect).
- Some strategies that will help get comfortable:
- Add oral acetaminophen – either 2 extra strength every 6 to 8 hours or 2 regular strength every 4 hours, not taking more than 4000 milligrams a day.
- Add an anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID) if allowed to take these.
- Examples include:
- ibuprofen 600 or 800 mg every 6 hours for 2-3 days
- naproxen 440 mg every 12 hours for 2-3 days
- Stagger acetaminophen and NSAIDs
- Elevate the surgical area
- Apply ice 10 minutes on, 5 minutes off
- Eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water
- Make sure you maintain a good social support system to help you with your recovery
More information can be found at:
https://www.aaos.org/quality/quality-programs/quality-toolkits/helping-patients-get-comfortable-after-injury-or-surgery/
Author
Creighton C. Tubb, MD
Hip & Knee Replacement Surgery;
New Braunfels Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine,
New Braunfels, Texas
