Best Treatments for Post Op Muscle Pain
Category: Back Pain, Minimally Invasive Surgery | Author: Stefano Sinicropi
The goal of most minimally invasive spine surgeries is to reduce a patient’s pain. However, every surgery comes with at least a small amount of post-operative pain. The topic of discussion for today’s blog is post-op muscle pain after spine surgery. We will discuss the causes of muscle pain after a minimally invasive spine surgery and offer some tips for treating this type of muscle pain.
Causes of Muscle Pain after Spine Surgery
Muscle pain after spine surgery can be the result of a number of factors. First and foremost is the surgical incision. Even the small incisions required in a minimally invasive procedure need time to heal. After surgery, your surgeon stitches up the incision and then it’s simply a matter of giving the body enough time to naturally heal the wound. During this recovery time, you may experience some muscle pain surrounding the incision. The surrounding muscles will likely be inflamed. This is completely natural and just takes time to resolve.
How to Treat Post-op Muscle Pain
Most post-operative muscle pain is nothing to be worried about. It is a natural result of the body healing itself. That being said, you do not have to simply suffer through the pain. There are a number of options for reducing muscle pain after spine surgery that you can do at home, such as:
- Massage. Gently massaging the area around the surgical incision.
- Over the Counter pain medication Over the counter pain medication can help mitigate the pain. If your pain is severe, your physician may prescribe stronger pain relievers.
- Please note: If you have had a spinal fusion surgery, you should avoid ibuprofen, naproxen, and other NSAID medications. Acetaminophen is acceptable; if this does not manage your pain, talk to your provider.
Talk with your surgeon before your procedure to see what level of pain you can expect after your surgery, and how to treat muscle aches and pains. If your pain increases considerably after surgery, contact your medical provider to make sure there is not another underlying problem.
