Researchers at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and the University of Warwick examined advantages of alternate pain relief options during knee replacement surgery in a new study.
Here are five observations:
1. A new alternative approach to pain management uses an injection of anesthetic agents around the knee joint and is administered by the surgeon without a specialist equipment required.
2. The study found that patients who had the knee injections required lower doses of painkillers after surgery.
3. Because there is no need for specialist equipment, surgeons and anesthetists save time and resources and improve patient care.
4. Over 250 patients having knee replacements at UHCW took part in the study.
5. A traditional option for pain relief during knee replacement surgery is a femoral nerve block, a single dose of local anesthetic injected around the femoral nerve in the groin.