Postoperative pain management is an important public health concern worldwide, especially following orthopaedic surgery. In clinical scenarios, patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery would suffer a lot from pain, since pain can exist preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Pain can appear as a postoperative complication and may become chronic and last for a long time. Chronic low back pain, for instance, is a globally prevalent disorder, which can appear and last for many years following orthopaedic spine surgery. It is well known that pain can cause a poor quality of life for patients who experience orthopaedic events, such as bone fracture, in particular for those suffering chronic pain postoperatively. Therefore, pain control and management are essential for patients who undergo orthopaedic surgery.

Currently, analgesic therapies are routinely administered to patients who suffer pain preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Following orthopaedic surgery, most pain control is done by painkillers. In addition, some other therapeutics are also available for releasing postoperative pain, such as physiotherapy, exercise, and even nerve blockades. However, pain research and management are still challenging for patients following orthopaedic surgery in terms of chronic pain complications.

This Special Issue is focused on pain control and management for patients following orthopaedic surgery. The topic will cover both clinical research and basic research. Original research is extremely welcome to provide new insights for understanding pain mechanisms following orthopaedic surgery and novel discoveries of pain management strategies. Review articles that help better understand the existing knowledge regarding pain research and management and related therapeutics are also encouraged.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Studies on prevalence and epidemiological analysis, diagnosis and prognosis, and imaging
• Risk assessment of postoperative pain
• Clinical management of postoperative pain, such as how preoperative management influences postoperative pain
• Treatment approaches, including pharmacotherapy, physiotherapy, exercise, manual therapy and manipulation, massage, electrophysical agents, epidural injection, surgery, multidisciplinary, and usual care
• Novel interventions that can mitigate pain following orthopaedic surgery
• Novel molecules and genetic changes that can release pain following orthopaedic surgery
• Biomaterials, including internal fixation materials and bone grafts, that can relieve postoperative pain following orthopaedic surgery
• Development of animal models and optimisation of drug delivery
• Systematic reviews and/or meta-analysis/network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials or primary clinical data used to evaluate the efficacy of novel or potential therapeutics for postoperative pain
• Systematic reviews and/or meta-analysis/network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials or primary clinical data used to evaluate the potential risk factors for postoperative pain
• Evidence for the presence of sex differences in the incidence and therapy of postoperative pain