We are currently under development. Please don't submit any requests at this point in time. The site goes live on 1 November 2026.

Registered charity to be confirmed

Text size
The Beyond Pain Foundation

Conditions we support

Conditions guide

Pain after surgery or an accident

Most pain after an operation or injury fades as the body heals. But for some people, pain carries on for months or years after the wound has healed. This is called chronic post-surgical or post-traumatic pain. It is real, it is common, and it can be treated. This guide explains why it happens, the warning signs to watch for, the treatments available in the UK, and your rights at work.

Pain is called chronic when it lasts
3 months or more
People with some ongoing pain after surgery
Up to 3 in 10
People whose pain is severe
About 1 in 20
Pain clinic patients whose pain began with surgery
About 1 in 5

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Medicines and treatments must be prescribed or recommended for you by a doctor or pharmacist. We do not give doses here.

What it is

Chronic post-surgical pain is pain that starts or gets worse after an operation and is still there at least 3 months later, after normal healing should be over. Pain that carries on after an accident, fracture or other injury is called chronic post-traumatic pain. Doctors first check the pain isn't caused by something else, such as an infection or the original problem coming back.

It often happens because nerves were stretched, cut or damaged, or because the nervous system has become more sensitive and keeps sending pain signals after the tissue has healed. It is not "all in your head", and it does not mean the operation went wrong.

It can follow almost any operation, but it is more common after some, such as amputation, chest surgery, breast surgery, hernia repair and knee or hip replacement. You may be more at risk if:

  • you had a lot of pain soon after the operation or injury
  • you already lived with long-term pain, such as back pain, migraine or fibromyalgia
  • you were taking opioid painkillers before surgery
  • you are younger, or a woman
  • you were very anxious or low in mood around the time of surgery

Types of pain

Ongoing pain after surgery or injury can feel different from person to person. You may have more than one type.

Nerve pain

Also called neuropathic pain. Burning, shooting, stabbing or electric-shock pain, pins and needles, numbness, or pain from light touch. Around a third to a half of ongoing pain after surgery has nerve features.

Scar and tissue pain

Aching, pulling or tightness around a scar or in the muscles and joints near the operation or injury.

Joint pain after replacement

Pain that continues after a knee or hip replacement, even when the new joint looks fine on X-ray.

Complex regional pain syndrome

CRPS is uncommon. Severe pain, usually in an arm or leg, far worse than expected from the injury, with swelling, stiffness and changes in skin colour or temperature. It is more common in women. Early treatment may help. See our CRPS guide.

Phantom and residual limb pain

Pain after amputation, either in the part of the limb that is no longer there or in the remaining limb. See our guide to amputation and phantom limb pain.

Widespread pain

Sometimes pain spreads beyond the area that was injured, as the nervous system becomes more sensitive overall.

Symptoms and time frames

Every recovery is different. This is a rough guide to what is expected and when to ask for help.

  1. First days to weeks

    Acute pain

    Pain from the operation or injury itself. It should ease week by week. Good pain control now may lower the risk of long-term pain.

  2. Weeks to 3 months

    Healing

    Most wounds heal in a few weeks. Bones and deeper tissues take longer. Pain that is getting worse, or changing to burning or shooting pain, should be checked.

  3. 3 months or more

    Chronic pain

    Pain that is still there after healing should be over. This is the point it is called chronic. Ask your GP or surgeon about it.

  4. Months to years

    Long term

    For many people pain eases over time. For some it lasts for years. Treatment aims to reduce it and help you live and work well.

Timings are typical ranges, not exact rules. Don't wait 3 months if your pain is severe or worrying.

When to get urgent help

In the weeks after an operation or injury, some symptoms need help straight away.

Call 999 if you have

  • chest pain, or sudden shortness of breath. This can be a blood clot in the lungs
  • fast breathing, confusion, slurred speech, or blue, pale or blotchy skin. These can be signs of sepsis
  • a rash that doesn't fade when you press a glass on it
  • heavy bleeding from a wound that won't stop

Call NHS 111 or your surgical team if

  • your wound is red, hot, swollen or more painful
  • it leaks pus or starts to open
  • you have a high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery
  • one leg is throbbing, swollen, warm or a different colour. This can be a blood clot (DVT)

See your GP if

  • pain is not easing as expected, or is getting worse
  • you have burning, shooting or electric-shock pain, or numbness
  • an arm or leg is very sensitive to touch, or changes colour or temperature
  • you are relying on strong painkillers weeks after surgery

Blood clots can form for several weeks after surgery, even after you have gone home.

Diagnosis and referral

Start with your GP or the team that did your operation. They will ask about the pain, examine you, and check for other causes, such as infection, a problem with an implant, a fracture that hasn't healed, or a hernia coming back. You may have blood tests, X-rays or scans.

There is no single test for chronic post-surgical pain. It is diagnosed from your history and by ruling out other causes. Doctors may use a short questionnaire to check for nerve pain.

If pain is severe, limits your life a lot, or doesn't respond to treatment, your GP can refer you to an NHS pain clinic. Most pain clinics need a referral from your GP or hospital doctor.

Months

Waits for NHS pain clinics vary a lot around the UK and can be many months. Ask your GP how long the wait is in your area, and what can be tried while you wait.

Treatments and medicines

Medicines rarely take pain away completely. NHS pain specialists say most medicines for long-term pain help around 1 in 4 or 5 people, and usually reduce pain by about a third. They work best alongside activity, physiotherapy and support with coping.

Simple painkillers

From a pharmacy or supermarket

Paracetamol and anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen may help tissue and joint pain. They don't usually help nerve pain. Ask a pharmacist if they are safe for you.

Nerve pain medicines

Prescription

NICE recommends offering a choice of amitriptyline, duloxetine, gabapentin or pregabalin. Some were first made for depression or epilepsy but work on nerve pain in a different way. They are started low and increased slowly. Allow several weeks to judge whether one helps. If it doesn't, another can be tried.

Creams and plasters

Prescription

For nerve pain in one small area, capsaicin cream (made from chilli peppers) may help. Some people are offered numbing plasters. These can suit people who can't take tablets.

Physiotherapy and graded activity

NHS, often by self-referral

Exercise built up slowly helps strength, movement and confidence, and can calm an oversensitive nervous system. Scar massage and desensitisation can help sore, sensitive skin.

TENS

Buy your own, or try one through physiotherapy

A small device that sends gentle electrical pulses through pads on the skin. It helps some people with pain, and it is safe to try for most.

Opioids are not a long-term answer for most people

Strong painkillers such as morphine, oxycodone, codeine and tramadol help with short-term pain after surgery. Taken for months, they rarely keep working well, and risks such as dependence, hormone changes and even increased pain go up with the dose. NICE says tramadol should only be used for short-term rescue in nerve pain. If you have been taking opioids for a long time, ask your GP for a review. Don't stop suddenly without advice.

Pain clinics and specialist help

If first treatments aren't enough, these options may be offered. Not every option is right for every person.

  1. Pain clinic assessment

    After GP referral

    A specialist team reviews your pain and your medicines. Clinics vary. Some have a consultant who suggests treatments; others have a team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and occupational therapists.

  2. Injections and nerve treatments

    Relief can last weeks to months

    For some types of pain, a specialist may offer nerve block injections, or radiofrequency treatment to calm a painful nerve. These don't work for everyone and may need repeating.

  3. Pain management programme

    Usually a group course over several weeks

    A course run by a team of health professionals. It teaches pacing, goal setting, exercise and ways to manage the effect pain has on your mood, sleep and life. The aim is to live better with pain, and many people find their pain eases too.

  4. Talking therapy

    Often 6 to 12 sessions

    Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can help with the stress, low mood and sleep problems that often come with long-term pain. You can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies in England.

  5. Further surgery or nerve stimulation

    Only after careful specialist assessment

    Sometimes a fixable cause is found, such as a trapped nerve or a problem with an implant. For a small number of people with severe nerve pain, a specialist centre may consider spinal cord stimulation. Recovery times depend on the procedure.

Self-help

On bad days

  • Keep moving gently. Rest helps for a short time, but too much makes pain worse
  • Try heat, a cool pack or TENS
  • Use breathing or relaxation exercises
  • Break tasks into smaller steps
  • Have a flare-up plan agreed with your GP or physiotherapist

Day to day

  • Pace yourself: do a bit, rest a bit, even on good days
  • Build up activity slowly and steadily
  • Keep regular sleep times
  • Stay in touch with friends and things you enjoy
  • Join a support group or online forum

Getting the best treatment

Help your doctor help you

  • Describe the pain in your own words: burning, shooting, aching, pulling
  • Say exactly where it is, and whether touch or clothing makes it worse
  • Bring a list of every medicine you take, and which ones helped
  • Explain how it affects your sleep, mood, work and daily life
  • Ask whether it could be nerve pain, and whether nerve pain medicines might help
  • Ask about physiotherapy, a pain clinic and a pain management programme
  • If you are due more surgery, tell the team about your ongoing pain beforehand

Keep a pain diary for a few weeks: pain levels, activity, sleep and medicines. It helps your doctor, and it is useful evidence for your employer and for a funding application.

Working with ongoing pain

Long-term pain after surgery or an accident can count as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (the Disability Discrimination Act in Northern Ireland). This applies if it has more than a minor effect on your daily life and has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months. Conditions that come and go can count.

If it does, your employer must make reasonable adjustments. A phased return, building up your hours and duties over several weeks, is often the first step. Your fit note can suggest this. Other adjustments might include:

  • Changed hours or duties for a while
  • No heavy lifting, or lifting aids
  • An ergonomic chair and sit-stand desk
  • Supportive seating and cushions
  • Voice recognition software if typing hurts
  • Working from home some days
  • Regular breaks to move or rest
  • Time off for appointments and therapy

Access to Work is a government grant in England, Scotland and Wales that can pay for equipment, support workers and extra travel costs to work, beyond what your employer must provide. Northern Ireland has its own scheme. For advice on your rights, contact Acas or Citizens Advice.

Benefits

If you are an employee and too unwell to work, you may get Statutory Sick Pay for up to 28 weeks. Depending on how pain affects you, you may be able to get Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or Adult Disability Payment in Scotland, Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance. If you were hurt in an accident at work while employed (not self-employed), you may be able to get Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Turn2us and Citizens Advice can help you check.

How The Beyond Pain Foundation can help

If NHS waits are too long, or the help you need isn't available to you on the NHS, we may be able to fund:

  • A private consultation with a pain specialist
  • A course of private physiotherapy or hydrotherapy
  • A pain management programme or course
  • A TENS machine
  • Workplace or home equipment, such as an ergonomic chair, a sit-stand desk, supportive seating or mobility aids

We can't pay for everyday living costs or debts. If you are claiming compensation for your accident, tell us, and tell us about any help your insurer or employer is already paying for. Always get a written quote to include with your application.

Apply for funding Check the requirements

Support and sources

Pain Concern

Charity for people living with pain

Helpline 0300 123 0789. Leave a message and they will usually call back the next working day. Free leaflet on chronic pain after surgery.

painconcern.org.uk

British Pain Society

Professional body with patient information

Information on pain clinics, pain management programmes and living with pain.

britishpainsociety.org

Faculty of Pain Medicine

Pain specialists' professional body

Clear information for patients about taking opioids for long-term pain.

fpm.ac.uk
Sources for this guide

Last reviewed: October 2026.