From celebrities hooked on painkillers to reality shows about rehab — and those recent Senate hearings in Washington, D.C., investigating pain clinics — you can’t escape the news that prescription pain pills (which are vital to the proper treatment of pain) cause big trouble when used the wrong way. If you’re among the 100 million Americans coping with nonstop pain, scary stories about addiction and overdoses probably have left you wondering how best to ease those aches.
Chronic pain following major surgery (hip or knee replacement, for example) often can be managed with local anesthetics, topical NSAIDs and oral NSAIDs (like ibuprofen). They should be prescribed by a pain-management specialist, who, from the start of treatment, establishes a regimen designed to smoothly get you off of or avoid narcotic painkillers. This specialist will focus on easing your pain, promoting healing and protecting you from overdoing it.
