Pain treatment options for osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common diseases of the joints and spine and is characterized by degenerative changes starting in the cartilage. Joint changes cause pain, stiffness, swelling, and a loss of normal joint function. Several international recommendations address the choice of treatment methods for osteoarthritis. However, because there is still no effective causal treatment leading to a remission of the disease, this is a complex issue. Even the possibilities of effective but safe treatment of pain, which is the most common problem accompanying osteoarthritis, are very limited. All current international recommendations for the treatment of osteoarthritis agree on the crucial role of non-pharmacological treatment and the choice of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of osteoarthritis. Pharmacological treatment includes non-opioid analgesics, opioids, symptomatic slow-acting osteoarthritis drugs, or intra-articular corticosteroids. A new trend is to maximize the potential of existing analgesics by combining them. Using drugs from different classes with complementary mechanisms of action provides a better opportunity for effective analgesia at reduced doses of individual agents. The use of fixed combinations is also advantageous.

Keywords: analgesics, intra‑articular corticosteroids, non‑steroidal antirheumatic drugs, osteoarthritis, symptomatic slow‑acting drugs for osteoarthritis.