Pain Management
Pain after surgery is called acute pain. While it can cause considerable discomfort, acute pain is quite normal and usually doesn’t last very long — one to three days is a common duration. The goal of pain management is to control a patients’ pain enough to allow for activities and actions required for healing: walking, eating, breathing deeply, and sleeping. Learn more about the differences between opioid and non-opioid pain management.
Opioid Prescribing
OPEN’s Opioid Prescribing Recommendations are procedure-specific and developed through data analysis, literature review and expert consensus. The recommendations are updated as new evidence is published in order to keep providers current with best practices in opioid prescribing.
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Adult Prescribing Recommendations
Use OPEN’s evidence-based prescribing recommendations for tailored pain management after surgery in adult patients.
Pediatric Prescribing Recommendations
Use OPEN’s Pediatric evidence-based acute care opioid prescribing recommendations after surgery.
Surgery Pain Management
Learn about preparing for surgery, talking with your surgeon, strategies to manage pain such as over-the-counter medications, non-medication options, opioid medications, and COVID’s impact on the opioid crisis. Healthcare providers can find current evidence to support prescribing decisions, best practices for pain management, opioid prescribing recommendations, patient counseling suggestions, and care coordination strategies.
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Managing Pain After Surgery (Adults)
Learn ways to manage pain after surgery such as: over-the-counter medications, non-medication strategies, and opioids, if prescribed.
Non-Medication Pain Management
Learn how to help manage or reduce your pain and anxiety through various techniques.
Dentistry Pain Management
Learn about preparing for dental procedures, talking with your dentist, strategies to manage pain such as over-the-counter medications and non-medication options.
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Managing Pain After Dental Surgery
Learn ways to manage pain after dental surgery such as: over-the-counter medications, non-medication strategies, and opioids, if prescribed.
Acetaminophen and NSAIDs Reference Sheet – Dentistry
Learn more about prescribing acetaminophen and NSAIDs for pain management after dental surgery.
Pediatrics Pain Management
Surgery can be stressful for both you and your child. This is natural and expected, and some of this comes from worrying about the pain after surgery and how it can be managed. These tools will help you talk to your surgeon about pain before your child’s surgery and manage your child’s acute pain following their operation.
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Obstetrics Pain Management
Preparing to give birth can be stressful, which is why OPEN strives to educate patients and healthcare providers for best practices to manage pain before and after birth. These resources will help you create a tailored plan that works for you after you’ve given birth.
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Managing Pain After Childbirth
Learn ways to manage pain after childbirth such as: over-the-counter medications, non-medication strategies, and opioids, if prescribed.
Managing Pain After Childbirth Toolkit
A practical guide for clinicians to learn more about implementing the COMFORT (Creating Optimal Pain Management for Tailoring Interventions after Childbirth) Clinical Practice Guideline.