The Management of Acute Pain for Musculoskeletal Conditions

➢ Opioid use for chronic and acute musculoskeletal pain is common. ➢ Orthopaedic surgeons are frequent opioid prescribers. ➢ Opioids are commonly prescribed for acute pain, with high variation. ➢ Opioid alternatives for acute pain are effective, and the incorporation of multimodal pain management in the perioperative period can decrease opioid use. ➢ Although opioids are effective for the management of acute musculoskeletal pain, the morbidity and mortality related to opioid analgesics reinforce the need for robust, evidence-based guidelines. ➢ Providers should evaluate patient risk preoperatively, should prescribe judiciously with multimodal pain management plans, and should integrate a preoperative discussion on opioid usage. ➢ Future research should include procedure-specific pain management strategies, as well as the comparative efficacy of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic methods of pain management.