Taking anti-inflammatory drugs after surgery to treat pain is common practice. But blocking the healing effects of postsurgical inflammation may backfire — delaying recovery, prolonging pain, and even leading to chronic soreness.
That’s the conclusion of a recent study on mice published in the Journal of Pain Research.
Inflammation plays a critical yet paradoxical role in injury recovery, rushing white blood cells to mend damaged tissue and battle any invading bacteria. Side effects, though, often include pain, swelling, and warmth. Doctors worry about inflammation becoming chronic and leading to other issues, so anti-inflammatory drugs — including prescription and over-the-counter varieties — have become common.
“Inflammation is not necessarily a bad thing,” explains senior study author Geoffroy Laumet, PhD, an associate professor of physiology at Michigan State University. “Yes, it hurts, but it’s also working on the inside to promote the resolution of that pain. The idea in the medical field that when you have an injury you should absolutely block the inflammation right away might not always be the best strategy.”
“The idea in the medical field that when you have an injury you should absolutely block the inflammation right away might not always be the best strategy.”
Laumet’s team found that blocking inflammation after surgery actually increased pain in the long run. “It was an unexpected result,” he says. Taking the anti-inflammatories “prevented the body from turning off the pain normally.”
Each year, more than 40 million Americans undergo surgery. The pain eases normally for 90 percent of patients, but the other 10 percent develop chronic pain, says Laumet. And that persistent pain can be tough to treat, becoming resistant to medication, he warns.
“Scientists and clinicians may need to think carefully about how inflammation is managed after injury or surgery, because completely suppressing it might sometimes interfere with natural recovery processes,” Laumet says.
(For more on anti-inflammatory drugs, see “What You Need to Know About Ibuprofen.”)
This article originally appeared as “Anti-Inflammatory Drugs After Surgery May Prolong Pain” in the September/October 2026 issue of Experience Life.
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