Rebound Pain—Management Strategies for Transitional Analgesia: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs), while effective in reducing postoperative opioid use and side effects, are often associated with rebound pain (RP), a significant clinical issue requiring proactive management. Methods: A systematic search of electronic databases (e.g., PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) was conducted for studies investigating rebound pain following regional anaesthesia. Recent findings: RP has a high incidence in ambulatory patients and is influenced by patient, surgical, and anaesthetic factors. Preoperative education, multimodal analgesia, continuous nerve blocks, and intravenous dexamethasone may mitigate RP. Although RP does not typically affect overall opioid use, recovery, or patient satisfaction, the majority of patients experiencing RP would still choose PNBs for future surgery.