A Caregiver's Guide: Controlling Discomfort
As with any surgery, a certain amount of pain is standard during
the recovery process. You can help ease the patient’s discomfort
by doing the following:
- Administer pain medicine at least 30 minutes before
physical therapy. - Encourage the patient to gradually wean him or herself
from prescription medication. Follow the surgeon's recommendations for taking over-the-counter medication
in place of prescription medication. - Have the patient change position every 45 minutes
throughout the day. - Use ice for pain control. Apply ice for 20 minutes at a time
each hour to decrease discomfort. If the patient doesn’t have an ice pack, a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a kitchen towel serves as a good substitute. Mark the bag of peas and return them to the freezer to be used as an ice pack later.
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A Caregiver's Guide