Abdominal Hernia Pain: Chronification Mechanisms after Hernia Surgery

Groin pain is the most common cause of surgical intervention. There are 3 parameters that increase the chances of chronic pain. On the one hand, starting the surgery with high intensity pain that has not been previously controlled. On the other, insufficient anesthetic and analgesic control during the surgical procedure. Finally, an inadequate management of acute postoperative pain. The presence of groin pain and its poor control before the intervention predisposes to difficulties during the perioperative process. Thus, the appearance of acute postoperative pain not adequately controlled will prevent its remission in a natural way in the usual period (approximately 1 month) and will cause it to progress in intensity and continuity (from 1 month to 3 months after surgery), transforming into a chronic pain (from 3 months after the intervention). In this process of chronification, in which pain goes from nociceptive to neuropathic, different physiological sensitization mechanisms are involved, both peripheral and central. The chronification of the painful process and, ultimately, the therapeutic approach that we will have to use to try to prevent this process depends to a large extent on these modifications that facilitate the change in the nature of pain.