Is there a “best” pain reliever for osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects tens of millions of Americans and is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life across the globe. Other than joint replacement surgery, there is no known “cure” for OA, and most treatments focus on relief of symptoms such as pain. Often, the first step is non-medication-based approaches such as physical therapy, exercise, and weight loss. Most patients, however, will eventually use pain relievers such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Other kinds of medication, such as opioids, have also been tested as treatments for OA, and there is ongoing debate about what treatments are best. NSAIDs vs. opioids: Was there a clear winner? A recent study compared oral NSAIDs and oral opioids for relief of osteoarthritis pain. Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital performed a meta-analysis (that is, they combined and summarized the results of numerous published studies). They included clinical trials in which patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) were chosen at random to receive treatment that lasted at least 2 months. The researchers carefully chose which studies to include, and two members of the team independently reviewed each study and extracted the data. They selected studies that used a common, well-validated, and widely-accepted measure of pain (the WOMAC scale, which rates pain on a scale from 0 to 100). Data from over 5,500 patients were included, and the researchers found that, on average,...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Arthritis Drugs and Supplements Health Osteoarthritis Pain Management Source Type: news