Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsNociceptive PainNeuropathic PainReferred PainPhantom Limb PainWhat to Do
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Nociceptive Pain
Neuropathic Pain
Referred Pain
Phantom Limb Pain
What to Do
Pain after surgery is to be expected and can have a variety of causes, depending on the location and nature of the procedure.
This article looks at some of the different types of pain you may haveafter surgery. It also discusses ways to manage your pain.
Olive / Getty Images
Nociceptivepainis the most common type of pain. When someone says they are “in pain,” this is usually what they mean.There are different types of nociceptive pain.
Superficial Somatic Pain
Symptoms of superficial somatic pain include:
Deep Somatic Pain
Deep somatic pain comes from tissues deep within the body. This includes tissues like:
You feel deep somatic pain after an ankle sprain or broken bone, or when a surgeon cuts through muscle or other internal tissue. For example, a surgeon must cut through the muscles of theabdominalwall to remove an inflamed appendix. The pain that comes from those muscles is a deep somatic pain.
Symptoms of deep somatic pain include:
How to Care For a Surgical Incision
Visceral Pain
Symptoms of visceral pain can be vague or dull and include:
Visceral pain does not always seem to come from the location of the problem.The pain may be general. It may even seem like it’s coming from another part of your body. This makes it hard to pinpoint its origins.
An Overview of Visceral Pain
Signs of a Blood Clot After SurgeryThere is a risk of developing a potentially dangerous blood clot in the leg after some surgeries, especially if it is necessary to recover while lying down. This is known asdeep vein thrombosis(DVT).Symptoms of DVT include:SwellingPain or tendernessDistended veinsRed or discolored skinIf you experience any of these symptoms in your leg, call your healthcare provider right away.
Signs of a Blood Clot After Surgery
There is a risk of developing a potentially dangerous blood clot in the leg after some surgeries, especially if it is necessary to recover while lying down. This is known asdeep vein thrombosis(DVT).Symptoms of DVT include:SwellingPain or tendernessDistended veinsRed or discolored skinIf you experience any of these symptoms in your leg, call your healthcare provider right away.
There is a risk of developing a potentially dangerous blood clot in the leg after some surgeries, especially if it is necessary to recover while lying down. This is known asdeep vein thrombosis(DVT).
Symptoms of DVT include:
If you experience any of these symptoms in your leg, call your healthcare provider right away.
Types of neuropathic pain include:
Neuropathic pain may feel:
An Overview of Neuropathic Pain
Referred painoccurs when the brain can’t tell where the pain is coming from. This happens because the brain gets bundled information from different parts of the body through one set of nerves.
This kind of pain may happen during aheart attack. Some heart attack patients have referred pain in the left arm. This is because the nerve signals from the heart and arm are sent to the brain together.
Phantom limbpain is a unique phenomenon. When you have this kind of pain, you continue to feel a sensation in a body part that has beenamputated, or removed.
The name “phantom limb pain” can be misleading. This pain can happen in other body parts, too. People who havehad a breast or other non-limb body part removedmay also feel this kind of pain.
In the past, phantom limb pain was thought to be psychological. It is now known that it originates in the nervous system.
Some people with this condition can simply feel the presence of the amputated body part. Others may experience:
What to Do About Pain After Surgery
Pain after surgery is normal. Your surgeon will prescribe or recommendpain medicationfor you to take after your procedure. This does not necessarily mean you will have no pain. It means your pain will be tolerable.
Contact your surgeon if your pain suddenly increases or becomes unmanageable. This can be a sign of a setback in your recovery.
Generally speaking, post-surgical pain is at its worst for the first 24 to 48 hours after a procedure.This can vary depending on several factors, including how well your pain is being controlled.
Your pain should slowly improve each day. Use your pain medication as prescribed so you can get ahead of the pain, rather than waiting to take the medication until the pain worsens. “Toughing it out” can actually slow your recovery. It can also prevent you from getting up and moving in the days and weeks after surgery.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Motrin (ibuprofen) are typically used for 10 days or fewer. This is because ofpotential side effectslike stomach ulcers.Opioids like OxyContin (oxycodone) should be taken for the shortest amount of time possible. Addiction is rare when they are used for five days or fewer.Always follow your doctor’s instructions.
How Much Pain Is Acceptable After Surgery?
Summary
It is common to experience pain after surgery. There are several different types of pain, however, with different symptoms. The type of pain you experience will depend on what kind of surgery you had and on what parts of your body.
Practical Tips for Dealing With Pain After Surgery
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Gemechu BM, Gebremedhn EG, Melkie TB.Risk factors for postoperative throat pain after general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation at the University of Gondar Teaching Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, 2014.Pan Afr Med J. 2017;27:127. doi:10.11604/pamj.2017.27.127.10566
Baliki MN, Apkarian AV.Nociception, pain, negative moods, and behavior selection.Neuron. 2015;87(3):474–491. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.005
Kim KH, Seo HJ, Abdi S, Huh B.All about pain pharmacology: what pain physicians should know.Korean J Pain. 2020 Apr 1;33(2):108-120. doi: 10.3344/kjp.2020.33.2.108
OrthoInfo.Deep vein thrombosis.
Colloca L, Ludman T, Bouhassira D, et al.Neuropathic pain.Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17002. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.2
Roselt D.Somatic Referred Pain. In: Gebhart GF, Schmidt RF, eds.Encyclopedia of Pain. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer; 2013.
Medline Plus.Phantom limb pain.
Michigan Medicine.Managing acute pain after surgery.
Gan TJ.Poorly controlled postoperative pain: prevalence, consequences, and prevention.J Pain Res. 2017 Sep 25;10:2287-2298. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S144066
American College of Surgeons.Safe and effective pain control after surgery.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
