Pain after hip surgery | Pain after surgery causes, symptoms and duration

Pain after hip surgery

In addition to pain medication in tablet form, forms of administration such as pain pumps or catheters have clearly proven their worth in hip operations. These are mainly used in the phase of strongest pain immediately after the operation and are gradually switched to weaker medications, which can then be taken in tablet form, until discharge. The advantage of these pain pumps is that they can be controlled by the patient himself.

Thus, an exact adjustment to the individual pain sensation after the operation is possible. The respective dose, which can be given by the patient by pressing a button if necessary, is set beforehand by the doctor. An additional control mechanism to avoid overdosage consists of a blocking interval.

In this interval, once a certain dose has been reached, no further medication is given, even if the button is pressed. Additional measures to alleviate pain after hip surgery are correct positioning and cooling of the surgical scar. In addition, care should be taken to ensure adequate mobilization, initially under guidance and relief by means of crutches when walking, as too early or too much strain is a very common cause of increased postoperative pain.

Pain after carpal tunnel surgery

As with all surgical procedures, the optimal therapy of postoperative pain begins before the carpal tunnel operation by planning the optimal anesthetic procedure. It has been shown that a regional procedure, a so-called plexus blockade, is preferable to general anesthesia. On the one hand, this has the advantage that a hospital stay of several days is not necessary, i.e. the operation can be performed on an outpatient basis.

On the other hand, the patients complain of significantly less pain and therefore need less painkillers in the time after the operation. In the first two weeks after the operation, the hand is usually immobilized with a splint to ensure good wound healing. However, to ensure that mobility and nerve function are not subsequently restricted, suitable movement exercises should be performed under supervision from the first day after the operation. In addition, no heavy objects should be lifted or strenuous work performed with the affected hand until about 6 weeks after the operation.