The Importance of Postoperative Pain Management

Postoperative pain management has drawn greater attention from the medical community, as conventional opiate analgesics pose as risk factors for addiction. Yet effective and efficient analgesics are vital to postoperative pain management so as not to delay recovery after the surgery. At worst unbearable pain and discomfort could result in respiratory depression requiring mechanical ventilators.

The concern over proper postoperative pain management is in lightn of the increasing number of people who undergo surgery. The latest estimate is that about 234 million surgeries are performed by health systems throughout the globe. However, in the U.S. the available data collected show that while surgical operations that totaled 48 million in 2009 increased to 51.4 million in 2014, the total figure went down to only 23 million in 2017. The obvious reason is that in the U.S. the cost of healthcare and medicines is one of the highest in the world.

Popularity of Carisoprodol Use in Pain Management

The analgesic carisoprodol has gained popularity as effective postoperative pain medicine because it is a non-narcotic drug. Narcotic or codeine drugs are those that include substances like heroin, morphine or oxycodone in their formulation. In contrast, carisoprodol contains non-narcotic compounds of aspirin and antipyretic medications that act as muscle relaxant and anti-inflammatory agents.

The most popular carisoprodol brand is Soma, which most postoperative patients have taken as relief medication for acute pain and discomfort felt in skeletal muscles. Still, for carisoprodol or Soma to be effective as pain medication, pain management must be combined with long periods of rest, physical therapy, proper nutrition and other post-surgical anti-infection measures.

Currently, it should be noted that carisoprodol is not recommended for pre-surgery application as a muscle relaxant.

How Does Soma Carisoprodol Work?

A literature provided by the National Library of Medicines described the mechanism by which carisoprodol takes effect as pain relief medication. Although the description is merely a supposition based on studies and observations involving animals as subjects.

The observations led researchers to believe that Soma does not directly relax the skeletal muscles when providing relief. The muscle relaxations are mere effects created by altered interneuronal activity between the brain and the spinal cord.

That is why carisoprodol, despite its non-narcotic composition, has been deemed by drug regulators as having properties that can lead to addiction if not properly used for pain management. That being the case, FDA decided to list Soma under Schedule 4 of Controlled Substances.

Limitations in the Use of Soma Medication for Pain Relief

As a Schedule 4 Controlled Substance, purchase of Soma requires the presentation of a medical prescription. While Soma has also been found effective for relief of joint and muscle pains, many have been looking for online drugstores, asking where to buy soma without prescription

However, those who do so should have awareness that there are limitations when taking carisoprodol as pain medication. The recommended Soma dosage is 250 mg up to 350 mg only, and should be taken at bedtime.

Moreover, Soma is safe to take for short-term pain management only, usually up to two or three weeks. Cases in which sufferers took Soma for prolonged periods, exhibited withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation as pain medication.