Everyone Healthy Library
Postoperative Pain
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
! Seek urgent medical care if warning signs appear
Some health conditions or symptoms can become urgent. Use this page for education, but seek help quickly if warning signs are present.
Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:
- chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
- stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
- collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
- severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
- severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
- severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
- signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you
Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Linked signs and symptoms
0No related signs or symptoms are listed yet.
Linked drugs / medications
4Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
14Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Medical therapy
2Alternative and complementary therapies
9- AcupunctureWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Black Cohosh Plant (Actaea racemosa)No Recommendation(Moderate Evidence)
- Cannabis (Marijuana)Weakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Humor TherapyWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- HypnosisWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Image TherapyWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- MeditationWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Music TherapyWeakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
- Red Pepper (Capsaicin)Weakly in Favour(Low Evidence)
Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
11These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
- Blood pH Test
- Coagulation Factor Assay (Blood Clotting Factors)
- Creatine Kinase Concentration
- D-Dimer Blood Test
- erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
- Euglobulin Lysis Time (Fibrinolysis Time)
- Fibrinopeptide A (FPA) Action Assay
- Glucagon Concentration Test
- Osmolality, Blood (Serum Osmolality)
- Partial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide (PCO2, PaCO2)
- Urine Osmolality
Biological markers/agents
12This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
9- Blood pHReference range exampleAll: 7.35–7.45Linked diagnostic testsBlood pH Test
- Creatine Kinase3 (CK-MM) IsoenzymeReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 97–100 %Linked diagnostic testsCreatine Kinase Concentration
- D-DimerReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 0–240 µg/LLinked diagnostic testsD-Dimer Blood Test
- Erythrocyte Sedimentation RateReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 0–20 mm/Hr; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 0–15 mm/HrLinked diagnostic testserythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR)
- Factor VIII (Antihemophilic Globulin, Percentage of Normal Value)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 55–145 %Linked diagnostic testsCoagulation Factor Assay (Blood Clotting Factors)
- Fibrinopeptide A (FPA)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 0.7–3.1 mg/mL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 0.35–2.5 mg/mLLinked diagnostic testsFibrinopeptide A (FPA) Action Assay
- GlucagonReference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 0–147 pg/mL; Adult ( > 16y): 20–110 pg/mLLinked diagnostic testsGlucagon Concentration Test
- UrineReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 4.5–7.5; Child (0 - 16y): 500–1,400 mLLinked diagnostic testsUrine Colour, Urine Creatinine Concentration
- Urine OsmolalityReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 250–950 mOsm/kgLinked diagnostic testsUrine Osmolality
Often decreased
3- Osmolality, Blood (Serum Osmolality)Reference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 274–290 mOsm/kg; Birth - 2wks: 265–285 mOsm/kgLinked diagnostic testsOsmolality, Blood (Serum Osmolality)
- Partial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide (PaCO2)Reference range exampleAll: 35–45 mm HgLinked diagnostic testsPartial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide (PCO2, PaCO2)
- Plasma Clot Lysis TimeReference range exampleAll: 120–600 MinutesLinked diagnostic testsEuglobulin Lysis Time (Fibrinolysis Time)
Introduction / full article
Postoperative Pain
Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:
Cannabis (Marijuana, weed, hemp) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: Weakly in favor (Evidence shows that smoking or ingesting cannabis may help in relieving symptoms of pain, although some studies have yielded mixed results)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Red Pepper (Capsaicin):
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: weakly in favor (Studies have shown that red peppers have pain relieving effects among some women who have undergone mastectomies for breast cancer)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Black Cohosh (cimicifuga Racemosa):
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (Available evidence does not support claims that Black Cohosh helps to treat symptoms of postop pain in any way. Studies have yielded mixed results)
Grade of Evidence: moderate quality of evidence
Transcutaneous Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (There is not enough evidence supporting the role of TENS in chronic pain therapy)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Low-Level Laser Therapy:
Recommendation: no recommendation (There have been ambiguous results on the few studies done investigating the effect of laser therapy on chronic pain)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Acupuncture:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (There is some evidence that suggest that Acupuncture may decrease the need for pain medication)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Humor Therapy:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (One study has shown that humor therapy may help increase pain tolerance)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Hypnosis:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (There are many reports that demonstrate that hypnosis helps patients better manage and reduce pain)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Image Therapy:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (a review of a number of studies conducted showd that Image Therapy may be helpful in reducing pain)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Meditation:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (clinical trials have shown that meditation can help reduce chronic pain)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Music Therapy:
Recommendation: weakly in favor (Music therapy has been shown to be effective for short-term management of pain)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org
Summary References
Treatments:
1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009
2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/marijuana.html
3. http://nccam.nih.gov/research/extramural/awards/2004/
4. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/marijuana
5. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/treatments/complementary--alternative-medicine/marijuana/index.aspx
6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16957511
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12965981
8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17589370
9. http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.long
10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/?tool=pmcentrez