POST-SURGICAL SHOULDER PAIN
Even the most minimal surgery involves incisions and at least minor trauma to the muscles and other tissues. During surgery, the surgeon makes incisions on the skin and tissues to perform the procedure which can be rough on the muscles, connective tissue and organs. It is expected for the patients to feel a certain degree of discomfort after surgery, but depending on the type of operation, people can experience different types of pain.
TYPE OF POST-SURGICAL SHOULDER PAIN
Nociceptive pain is acute discomfort caused by damage or trauma to the organs, muscles, skin and bones. This type of pain can be:
- Pain that is related to the injury and gets better with the healing processes, also called Superficial Somatic pain
- Pain that comes from the deep tissues in the body, called Deep Somatic Pain
- Pain coming from the internal organs, called Visceral pain.
Other types of pain are:
- Neuropathic pain, which usually occurs when there are damaged or compressed nerves.
- Referred pain that develops when the brain is not able to identify the precise origin of the pain.
TREATMENTS FOR POST-SURGICAL PAIN
- Pain relieving medications are recommended for the first days after the surgery.
- Physical therapy to restore strength and gain flexibility
- Nerve blocks and spinal injections are mostly used to reduce the risk of dependence on pain medications.