Analgesic drugs

For mild to moderate OA pain, acetaminophen is part of the first line of treatment. Some common brand names are Tylenol and certain types of Excedrin, and they are available without a prescription at pharmacies. Acetaminophen relieves pain but does not reduce inflammation.

Health Tips from Dr. Healy: Video: What you need to know about arthritis pain medication Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control See the top online resources for information about osteorarthritis Nine key ways to beat the pain of arthritis How to lose weight and keep it off Osteoarthritis-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

Some patients with more advanced disease and who have intermittent severe pain can benefit from prescription opioids like Darvocet and Ultram. These medications are often necessary for patients with "end stage" hips or knees who are unable to undergo surgical replacement because they have heart or lung disease. Though drowsiness is an opioid side effect, that doesn't matter if the medications are taken at bedtime; these drugs may indeed help patients who feel pain more acutely at night and have trouble sleeping. Patients are often scared to take opioids, fearing addiction. But the use of time-release oral and skin-patch formulations prevents the rush that can encourage abuse. Moreover, research has indicated that the risk of addiction is small in patients with arthritis, especially when the drugs are used intermittently, and that it generally occurs only in people with a previous history of substance abuse.