Multimodal pain management: There is more to happiness than opioids

Given the ongoing opioid epidemic, surgeons are faced with the difficult task of providing adequate postoperative pain control while also minimizing the negative effects of opioid consumption on individuals and on society. Multimodal pain management is one approach to addressing this dilemma. A multimodal pain management regimen uses medications that target different parts of the pain pathway, minimizing the amount of any one medication and its associated side effects. This article reviews common components of multimodal pain management and describes a regimen that is currently used for shoulder arthroplasty at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.