While surgical medicine has advanced a great deal in the last 10 years or so, the treatment of post surgical chronic pain has not. As this Body and Mind article discusses, the fight against major diseases like cancer has had the effect of obscuring how frequently those who undergo major surgery are afflicted with chronic body pain, sometimes for years after their procedures were completed. However, as chronic post-surgical pain can have the effect of inducing depression, damaging interpersonal relationships and hurting a person’s career, it should be treated as the serious medical issue.

One method of treating post- surgical chronic pain that is proven to be successful is massage. The reason being, massage has the dual effect of relieving pain and promoting accelerated healing. Frequently, patients who have undergone surgery are left with sections of the body that were operated on that now radiate with pain. Gently massaging the areas surrounding the sections of the body that were operated on can induce the brain to produce endorphins, which will relieve pain. And it will draw freshly oxygenated red blood cells, which will aid in the healing process. Also, patients also find a massage has the effect of restoring the full range of mobility that was negatively impacted in the aftermath of invasive surgery.

Read the full article here: Transforming how pain is managed after surgery