Managing Pain After Your Spine Surgery

Pain Management After Spine Surgery

Many patients do not anticipate the pain that commonly follows spine surgery and can be surprised and disheartened. This pain is a normal result of invasive surgery and your nurse will work closely with you to provide compassionate care and appropriate pain control.

Patients also typically face increased emotions of worry, doubt, anxiety or fear following surgery. Being patient as you allow your body to adequately recover and asking questions so you can understand what to expect will help ease some of these concerns. You may also deal with depression, especially if you face long-term pain or a long recovery. A case manager may provide resources if you need additional assistance managing your emotional recovery.

Patient Controlled Pain Relief

The most common method to ease post-operative pain is the use of intravenous (IV) narcotics. These can be administered by a registered nurse, or they can be administered via an infusion device where you control the delivery of your medication. This method is called patient-controlled analgesia or PCA. The PCA machine is programmed based on your physician's orders. When you feel discomfort and want pain relief, all you need to do is push the PCA button, and the pain medication will usually begin to take affect within a few minutes.

Using a PCA system has been shown to be safe in numerous studies, with patients usually taking less narcotics and feeling more satisfied with their pain relief. There is a timer built into the machine that ensures your doses are safely administered and spread throughout the day.