Understanding What do Hospitals Give You for Severe Pain?

October 10, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), acute pain accounts for over 70% of patient visits to the Emergency Department. To address this, hospitals use a multimodal approach that integrates various medications and techniques tailored to your specific condition, answering the question of what do hospitals give you for severe pain.

Quick Summary

Severe pain in a hospital setting is treated with a combination of powerful opioid and non-opioid medications, delivered via oral, intravenous, or regional methods. Specialized systems like Patient-Controlled Analgesia and regional nerve blocks are used to provide targeted and effective relief.

Key Points

Multimodal Approach: Hospitals combine various medications and techniques, rather than relying solely on opioids, to manage severe pain effectively and safely.
Opioids for Severe Pain: For acute, intense pain, powerful opioids like morphine, fentanyl, and hydromorphone are often administered intravenously for fast relief.
Non-Opioid Alternatives: Adjuvants such as intravenous acetaminophen, ketorolac, and low-dose ketamine are used to supplement or reduce the need for opioids.
Regional Anesthesia: Techniques like nerve blocks and epidurals provide highly effective, targeted pain relief for specific body regions, minimizing systemic side effects.
Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA): PCA pumps allow patients to self-manage their pain by pressing a button for a controlled amount of medication, enhancing personal control and satisfaction.
Communication is Key: Patients must communicate openly with their care team about pain levels and side effects to ensure the pain management plan remains effective and safe.

The Multimodal Approach to Severe Pain Management

In modern healthcare, managing severe pain involves a comprehensive, multimodal strategy that moves beyond reliance on a single medication. This approach combines different types of pain relievers and delivery methods to achieve better pain control while minimizing side effects and reducing the risk of dependency. The specific treatment plan depends on the cause of the pain, its severity, and the patient's overall health.

Hospitals use a range of medications, often starting with less invasive options and escalating as needed. The most effective strategies frequently involve combining different drug classes that work through different mechanisms.

Opioid Analgesics for Acute Pain

When pain is acute and severe, especially following surgery or major trauma, powerful opioid medications are often the most effective choice. These drugs work by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, significantly reducing the perception of pain. They are typically reserved for short-term use due to their potential for side effects and risk of dependence. Common hospital opioids include:

Morphine: One of the most traditional and reliable opioids for severe pain, often administered intravenously for rapid relief.
Fentanyl: A powerful synthetic opioid with a rapid onset and short duration, making it ideal for procedures and short-term pain management.
Hydromorphone (Dilaudid): A semi-synthetic opioid similar to morphine, often favored by clinicians for its potency.
Oxycodone: Often prescribed in oral form, sometimes combined with acetaminophen (e.g., Percocet), for managing moderate to severe pain as patients transition away from intravenous medications.

Non-Opioid and Adjunctive Analgesics

To reduce reliance on opioids and manage pain more holistically, hospitals increasingly incorporate non-opioid and adjunctive medications into the pain management plan.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Administered intravenously, drugs like ketorolac (Toradol) have potent anti-inflammatory effects comparable to opioids for certain types of acute pain. Oral NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or naproxen are also used.
Acetaminophen (Tylenol): Intravenous acetaminophen can be highly effective, especially when combined with other analgesics, and is often used to minimize the dosage of opioids.
Ketamine: In low, sub-dissociative doses, ketamine can provide significant pain relief by blocking nerve receptors and can be used as an opioid-sparing agent, particularly in emergency departments.
Anticonvulsants: Medications like gabapentin (Neurontin) or pregabalin (Lyrica) can be used to treat nerve-related pain.

Regional Anesthesia and Specialized Delivery Methods

Beyond systemic medication, hospitals offer advanced techniques for localized or patient-controlled pain relief.

Nerve Blocks: A local anesthetic is injected near a specific nerve or bundle of nerves to block pain signals from a targeted area, such as a limb or surgical site. A peripheral nerve catheter can be placed for a continuous infusion for longer-lasting relief.
Epidural Analgesia: Pain medicine is delivered through a catheter in the epidural space of the spine, providing continuous pain relief to a specific region of the body, commonly used for labor and major abdominal surgery.
Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA): This system allows the patient to self-administer small, pre-programmed doses of IV pain medication by pressing a button. It provides a sense of control and can improve satisfaction with pain management, with built-in safeguards to prevent overdosing.

A Comparison of Severe Pain Treatment Strategies


Feature	Opioid Analgesics	Non-Opioid Analgesics	Regional Anesthesia	Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA)
Mechanism	Binds to opioid receptors in brain/spine to reduce pain sensation.	Reduces inflammation or blocks nerve impulses via various mechanisms.	Injects local anesthetics to numb targeted nerve pathways.	Patient-activated pump delivers pre-programmed IV medication doses.
Typical Use	Acute, severe pain (e.g., post-surgery, trauma).	Adjunctive therapy, moderate pain, opioid-sparing strategies.	Targeted pain relief for surgery, limb injuries, or labor.	Post-operative pain management in a controlled hospital setting.
Key Examples	Morphine, Fentanyl, Hydromorphone.	Ketorolac (IV), Ketamine (IV), Acetaminophen (IV).	Epidural, Peripheral Nerve Blocks.	Opioid analgesics delivered via a pump.
Benefits	Highly effective for severe pain, rapid onset.	Reduced risk of dependency, less sedation, fewer side effects.	Excellent, localized pain relief, reduces need for systemic opioids.	Puts control in the patient's hands, better pain control, less anxiety.
Risks/Considerations	Respiratory depression, sedation, constipation, nausea, dependence.	Kidney or liver issues with high doses, GI bleeding (NSAIDs).	Nerve damage (rare), infection, bleeding at site.	Potential for medication errors if button pressed by others, requires patient alertness.

Patient Communication and Monitoring

Effective pain management is a collaborative process. Patients in the hospital are encouraged to communicate openly and honestly with their healthcare team about their pain level and any side effects. Using a 0-10 pain scale helps nurses and doctors accurately assess and adjust treatment. Close monitoring for side effects, particularly with potent medications like opioids, is a standard safety protocol.

Conclusion: A Personalized Pain Relief Strategy

Hospitals utilize a sophisticated, personalized, and constantly evolving strategy for managing severe pain. No single medication is considered the universal solution; instead, treatment often involves a combination of powerful analgesics, non-opioid adjuncts, and targeted regional techniques. From potent intravenous opioids like fentanyl to specialized delivery systems like PCA pumps and localized nerve blocks, the approach is designed to balance maximum relief with minimal risk. The goal is to not only alleviate suffering but also to promote faster healing and a smoother recovery by prioritizing safety and individualized care. For more detailed information, consider reading resources from authoritative health organizations like the Mayo Clinic.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. While opioids are an important part of managing severe pain, hospitals now use a multimodal approach. This includes non-opioid medications like NSAIDs and ketamine, as well as techniques like nerve blocks, to provide relief while minimizing the risks of opioid use.

A Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) pump is a device that allows you to deliver a pre-set amount of pain medication, usually an opioid, intravenously by pressing a button. The pump is programmed with safety limits to prevent administering too much medication.

A nerve block involves injecting a local anesthetic near a specific nerve to stop pain signals from that area. It is used to provide targeted pain relief for surgery or localized injuries, reducing the need for systemic pain medications.

The duration of pain relief depends on the medication and delivery method. Intravenous medications can act quickly but have a shorter duration, while nerve blocks can last for several hours to days.

Common side effects, particularly from opioids, can include nausea, constipation, drowsiness, sedation, and slowed breathing. Your care team will monitor for these and can adjust your medication or provide treatment.

For short-term, acute pain treatment, such as after surgery, the risk of developing addiction is relatively low. However, prolonged or misuse of opioids increases this risk. The hospital staff is aware of these concerns and will manage your medication carefully.

If you are still experiencing severe pain, it is crucial to tell your healthcare provider. They will reassess your condition, potentially adjust your treatment, or add a different class of medication or a regional block to enhance your pain control.