Chinese Medicine
Pain after surgery
Pain in the days and weeks after an operation — at the wound, in the joint, or in the back from lying in bed. Your surgeon looks after the wound. Dr. Pan checks the cause first, then makes a plan that fits with your surgeon’s.
Please bring your surgery and discharge papers, and a list of the medicines, supplements and herbs you take now — especially pain pills. It helps to note each day how bad the pain is and what you took for it.
First, check the cause
Some pain after surgery is normal. It should get a little better each week. Pain that gets worse instead needs a check.
How it is treated
- Following your surgeon’s plan: pain medicine as prescribed, getting up and walking as advised, and physical therapy if you have it. This helps the most people.
- Regular pain medicine such as acetaminophen, so you need fewer opioid pills. Ice or heat, as your surgeon advises.
- Acupuncture, as an add-on to your surgeon’s plan: very thin needles, kept away from the wound. It eases pain and can lower the need for pain pills.
- Chinese herbs, to help you regain strength and recover. They are checked against the medicines you already take.
How many visits
Usually once a week at first. After a few visits, you and Dr. Pan look at how much better you are: less pain, fewer pain pills, easier movement.
Common questions
How soon after surgery can I start?
Many people can start once they are home and the wound is healing well. Needles are kept away from the wound.
Will I need fewer pain pills?
As the pain eases, your surgeon or Dr. Pan will lower them with you, step by step. Until then, take them as prescribed; do not stop or change any medicine on your own.
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Seen in King of Prussia
Patients travel from King of Prussia, Wayne, Bryn Mawr, Villanova, Radnor, Conshohocken, Malvern, Phoenixville, Devon and Berwyn.