How effective are NSAIDS for treating long-term pain relating to knee osteoarthritis?

Do non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs effectively relieve arthritis pain?

To answer this question, a recent study published in the European Journal of Pain looked at the effectiveness of NSAIDS in treating arthritis pain.

"Clinical effects from pharmacological interventions in OAK are small and limited to the first 2-3 weeks after start of treatment. The pain-relieving effects over placebo in OAK are smaller than the patient-reported thresholds for relevant improvement (Bjordal JM, et. 2007)."

Reference:

Bjordal JM, Klovning A, Ljunggren AE, Slørdal L. Short-term efficacy of pharmacotherapeutic interventions in osteoarthritic knee pain: A meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials. Eur J Pain.  2007 Feb;11(2):125-38. Epub 2006 May 8.


In this study which included over 14,000 patients, they concluded that NSAIDS or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs offer limited pain relief in comparison to a placebo after the first month of treatment. This suggests that long term pain management in patients with osteoarthritis of their knee will be difficult to manage with NSAIDS alone.


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