Despite the undeniable growth in popularity of alternative remedies, it is with drugs that arthritis is most commonly treated.
For anyone taking drugs to control an arthritic condition, understanding the differences between the various types of drugs and the effects that they may have is vital.
There are a vast array of drugs that you can but over the counter or that may be prescribed to combat the pain and symptoms of an arthritic condition.
These can be roughly divided into three categories, those which reduce the pain, those which reduce inflammation and pain, and those which reduce disease activity and tackle inflammation.
To treat your particular problem, you may have to take a combination of drugs or undergo trial periods to ascertain the effectiveness of the treatment.
Always pay special attention to any side effects associated with a drug.
Analgesics or pain killers, relieve pain by interfering with the message being transmitted to the brain via the network of nerve fibers in the body.
There are two main groups of pain killers, simple analgesics, such as aspirin, and narcotic analgesics, including codeine and morphine.
Most pain killers you buy over the counter are of the non narcotic type.
Some, such as Ibuprofen, are actually non steroidal anti inflammatory.
Many brand name pain killers are made by combining aspirin with other non narcotic drugs, such as caffeine, or with mild narcotic drugs such as codeine to produce compound pain killers.
Be careful about mixing analgesics, by taking two different brands of pain killers you may exceed the recommended dose for one of the ingredients.
It is best to avoid alcohol when taking analgesics, and long term use of these drugs should be medically supervised.
Because analgesics mask pain, it is also important to avoid over using a joint when taking them.
The range of pain killers on the market is wide and can be confusing, and you may need to take a combination of drugs.
Make sure you only take ones recommended by your doctor.
Taking the wrong drugs can make matters worse rather than better.
Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs reduce inflammation as well as pain.
Their main role in the treatment of arthritis is to reduce inflammation in the joint linings, there by reducing swelling and relieving pain and stiffness.
If no inflammation is present, as is often the case in osteoarthritis, it may have no advantage over analgesics.
That said, they are used for many different types of arthritis, often with other drugs.