Volume 30, Issue 168, February 2026

Regional Anesthesia in Postoperative Pain Management: Mechanism, Techniques, and Clinical Considerations – A Review

Marta Ciszewska^1♦, Gabriela Szubert², Małgorzata Gasińska- Franas³, Kacper Kopeć⁴

¹Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland
²Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland
³Department of Hematooncology, Copernicus Memorial Hospital, 93- 513 Lodz, Poland
⁴Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Marta Ciszewska, Medical University of Lodz, Al. Tadeusza Kościuszki 4, 90-419 Łódź, Poland

ABSTRACT

Regional anesthesia is commonly used after surgery and plays an important role in managing postoperative pain. Even with progress in surgical and anesthetic techniques, many patients still experience noticeable pain following their procedures. This pain may delay early movement, raise the risk of complications, and lead to a longer hospital stay. Regional anesthesia stops pain signals before they reach the central nervous system. Because of this, patients usually feel less pain and need fewer opioids. The effectiveness can vary and depends on the patient's condition, the type of surgery, and the regional technique used. Each method— neuraxial anesthesia, peripheral nerve blocks, and fascial plane blocks—has its own benefits, but their clinical effect may differ between patients. Although complications such as local anesthetic toxicity or nerve injury are rare, they still need to be kept in mind. The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize current knowledge on postoperative pain mechanisms, explain how regional analgesia works, and describe the main techniques of regional anesthesia used in clinical practice, along with their benefits, limitations, and their role in ERAS protocols.

Keywords: postoperative pain, regional anesthesia, nerve blocks, local anesthetics, perioperative care

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e33ms3821

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v30i168.e33ms3821

Published: 15 February 2026