Researchers discover new way to reduce pain after knee replacement surgery

Researchers may have found a new way to relieve pain after knee replacement surgery—and by injecting morphine directly into the leg bone.

These conclusions were drawn from a recent study of 48 patients undergoing total knee replacement. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Arthroplasty.

Researchers found that injecting morphine into the leg bone during knee replacement surgery controlled patients' post-operative pain better than standard treatment.

A few decades ago, knee replacement surgery patients spent several days in the hospital receiving high doses of opioids for pain relief.

An objective of this research is to reduce the need for opioid pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, in the days or weeks after surgery. In addition to causing an addiction, these drugs can have side effects such as nausea and constipation.