"in all honesty the first time i had tramadol for pain it did nothing for me. it was after my hip surgery. it didnt work for my surgical pain 4 years ago. but the last surgery i had *gallbladder* removal it worked amazingly well.  i&#039;m not sure why it just did. i requested to be put on it bc the hydro codeine stopped working. i didn&#039;t want something stronger i wanted something different. and this last time i fell down my stairs. my hips get stiff sometimes and stop working properly. when this happens i fall down alot. i manged to bruise my lower back to my hip. doctor gave me tramadol for the acute pain from the bruises on the hip. and it&#039;s been wonderful i can move no pain from stiffness i can move in ways i haven&#039;t been able to in years"