How to Heal Pain in Right Shoulder After Surgery

The amount of pain you experience after surgery on your right shoulder depends largely on the type of surgery performed. There will be discomfort from the trauma of the incision and surgical procedure, as well as the residual effects of the injury, including possible tenderness from muscles being taxed in new ways. To heal the pain, allow the recovery process to take its course, take pain medication as prescribed and integrate physical therapy to prevent scar tissue and to regain flexibility and strength.

Things You'll Need

• Gauze and bandages
• Sling
• Pain medications
• Physical therapy

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Instructions

• 1

  Care for the incision. Keep it dry, clean and bandaged until the sutures are removed.

• 2

  Immobilize the shoulder with a sling as directed by your surgeon. She may instruct you to keep your arm in the sling for the majority of time but to remove it for short periods for mobility stretches and movements. The sooner you can regain mobility, the more successful your surgery will be.

• 3

  Take pain medications as prescribed by your doctor. He will likely give you strong pain drugs after surgery, often by injection, and may prescribe hydrocodone or Tylenol with codeine to manage pain at home.

• 4

  Follow your physical-therapy program faithfully to ensure long-term healing of pain and injury in the shoulder. Physical therapy will help you strengthen and stretch your shoulder to return it to maximum function. While therapy may sometimes be a painful process, the prescribed exercises will help alleviate pain in the long run.