Millions of people get surgeries each year for a wide variety of reasons, including joint replacements, repairing broken bones, stents, and heart bypass. Whatever surgery you receive, an important part of recovery is managing the pain you may experience as a result. 

Pain relief can help you be more active sooner, reduce risk of surgical complications, and help your body heal faster by relieving stress and tension. Let’s look at some ways to manage pain to help speed your road to surgical recovery.

If you live in Hagerstown, Maryland, and need help managing pain post-surgery, Dr. Chris Clark and our experienced team at Premier Spine and Sports Medicine offer state-of-the-art rehabilitative care and regenerative medicine. We can help you safely get past the pain and on the road to recovery.

Here are some important steps to managing post-surgery pain:

Use nonprescription pain relievers when possible

What you may need in terms of pain relief will vary depending on the type of surgery you’ve had, but if you’re not experiencing large amounts of post-surgical pain, there are many different over-the-counter medications available to handle pain and inflammation from surgery. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin can treat a wide variety of mild pain and make it easier to resume normal activities as allowed.

Manage stress levels

This is especially important in the first days of recovery. Any surgery will cause some physical stress, so minimizing other forms of stress can help reduce pain and prevent risk of complications. Deep breathing and relaxation exercises can be beneficial to staying stress free, as well as avoiding things that will aggravate you.

Slowly increase activity

Recovering from surgery means taking the time to let your body heal properly before you expose it to intense amounts of activity. So, working your way up slowly in physical activity until you are ready to handle more stressful exercise and activity is important to keep you from harming yourself. Even when you’re feeling better, use moderation when trying to resume normal daily tasks.

Avoid sitting for too long

Rest and relaxation are important to your recovery, but being inactive for too long can lead to blood clots and other problems. Even just getting up and walking around can help keep your body healthy while you heal. A return to normal activity will be gradual, so be sure not to overwork your body.

Get adequate rest

Sleep is a very important part of your body’s healing process, so getting the proper amount of rest is vital to your recovery from surgery. Getting proper rest can help reduce pain as well as speed up the healing process. Some patients may experience insomnia after surgery, so a combination of medications to help relieve pain and finding a comfortable position can help induce rest.

We have many treatment options for managing your pain that we cater to your specific needs. So if you’re looking for post-surgical pain management, call our office or book an appointment online with Dr. Clark and Premier Spine and Sports Medicine today.