Dr. Doris K. Cope answers the question: 'Treating Osteoarthritis Pain?'
Question: What Is The Best Way To Treat Pain Associated With Osteoarthritis?
Answer: There is no one best way to treat pain associated with arthritis, but I always recommend starting with very simple things with little known bad effect and then progressing onward to more complex treatments. The simplest things are over the counter analgesics, nonsteroidals, then progressing to muscle relaxants, some physical therapy, heat for chronic pain, ice for acute muscular pain, progressing to pain evaluations, perhaps pain injections. We've found putting steroids at the site of the pain with local anesthetics can break a pain cycle and can give significant increased function and decreased pain. If these therapies are not helpful, there are surgical options, and there's more and more complex and interventional pain options that are available.
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