Arthritis Pain Relief: Best Treatments and What to Avoid

Weight management for arthritis pain

Furthermore, exercise helps keep your weight down, which is another important factor in controlling arthritis pain. Studies have shown that every pound of body weight you lose takes four pounds of force off the knee, says Dr. Sean S. Rajaee, an adult reconstruction and joint replacement surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“If someone were to lose five or 10 pounds, that’s taking up to 20 or 40 pounds off their knee, and if they’re taking 5,000 steps or 10,000 steps a day, that’s a lot of potential protection that you’d get from a little bit of weight loss,” Rajaee says.

The American College of Rheumatology recommends exercises like cycling, tai chi and yoga, in addition to strength and balance work. If you’re still experiencing some discomfort, Sterling says, wearing a brace or splint over the affected joint can help. Likewise, a cane can provide support for people with pain in their knee or hip.

The National Poll on Healthy Aging found that while most joint pain sufferers exercise (64 percent) and a smaller share do physical therapy (24 percent), far fewer opt for nondrug options such as splints and braces (13 percent).

Over-the-counter pain relievers

More than half (66 percent) of poll respondents who have joint pain report taking over-the-counter pain relievers. Short-term use of these medications can be helpful, but Koenig says you should talk to your doctor first because even though these are available without a prescription, they’re “not always safe for everybody.”

For example, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve), can reduce pain caused by inflammation that is common with arthritis. But chronic use carries heart, kidney and bleeding risks, especially in people with certain underlying conditions. “These are not drugs you want to be on for your entire life,” Rajaee says.

Similarly, too much of the pain reliever acetaminophen (Tylenol) can cause liver damage. Topical NSAIDs such as diclofenac (Voltaren) “can be a low-risk way to deliver anti-inflammatory” effects, Koenig says. Creams containing capsaicin may also help with knee pain.

Dietary supplements

Twenty-six percent of poll respondents say they turn to supplements for joint pain, including glucosamine and chondroitin. But several studies over the past decade, most focusing on arthritis of the knee, have shown mixed results on their effectiveness, including a 2016 landmark study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Half of the study participants took both glucosamine and chondroitin, while the other half took a placebo. Those taking the supplements reported worse symptoms than those taking the placebo. The American College of Rheumatology treatment guidelines for osteoarthritis strongly recommend against using glucosamine for hand, hip or knee arthritis, as well as chondroitin for hip and knee arthritis.

That said, there’s little risk in trying these supplements, doctors interviewed for this article say. But some can interact with other drugs you’re taking, so talk to your doctor first.

When Sterling sees a patient who is interested in trying supplements like turmeric and fish oil, he usually gives them the green light. “I tell them to try it for about six weeks. And if they feel like it’s helping, then it’s helping. And if they don’t feel like it’s helping, then don’t keep spending money,” he says.

Just be sure to look at the ingredients list so you know everything that’s in the pill or capsule and can avoid potential medication interactions, Wallace says. Dietary supplements aren’t regulated and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, as over-the-counter medications are.

Steroid injections and other options for arthritis relief

Nearly 20 percent of poll respondents said they get steroid injections to help manage joint pain. Don't confuse these with oral steroids, which have more side effects and are not recommended to treat osteoarthritis. (Oral steroids may be prescribed for other types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis.)

A menu of joint injections is available, but steroid injections are often the first choice for hip, knee and hand osteoarthritis “because they are generally effective” — though the effects can vary — “and they’re very cost-effective,” Sterling says.

When the steroid is injected into the joint, “it basically shuts down inflammation,” Rajaee says. “It does not bring cartilage back. No injection actually brings any cartilage back.”

If your joint pain is in the knee and steroid injections don’t work, or if you’re not a good candidate for them, your doctor may talk to you about hyaluronic acid injections (also known as viscosupplementation therapy), which can help lubricate the knee joint. The scientific evidence behind hyaluronic acid injections is less consistent, Sterling says, and the shots are more expensive than steroid injections.

Furthermore, insurance companies, including Medicare, often require that certain conditions be met before they will cover them. Still, doctors say they can help some people, even if the improvement is minor.

Two other alternatives that are less common but gaining popularity are platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections. But the evidence, many health experts say, needs catching up.

“We just don’t have enough good, longer-term studies to show how well these will or will not help patients avoid joint replacement surgery,” the last rung on the treatment ladder, says Sterling. He notes that these injections are often not covered by insurance.

When considering your options, beware of any injection that claims to restore cartilage in the joint, Koenig warns. “The idea of injecting stem cells or platelet-rich plasma into your joint for relieving your pain, that may or may not be a useful strategy … but it is not going to give you a new knee. So that just needs to be really clear,” he says.

Non-opioid prescription pain medications

Some people with osteoarthritis take prescription NSAIDs for the pain. Celecoxib (Celebrex) is a common one; it’s known for having fewer gastrointestinal side effects than other commonly used NSAIDs. Other patients may benefit from duloxetine (Cymbalta), which is an antidepressant that has been approved to treat chronic pain, including osteoarthritis.

Still, Wallace says, most of the drugs that are used to treat osteoarthritis, and have strong evidence for doing so, are over-the-counter medications.

Opioids aren’t recommended for arthritis pain

There is limited evidence on the long-term effectiveness of opioids, also referred to as narcotics, when used for chronic conditions such as arthritis, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And emerging data suggests over-the-counter pain relievers are safer and more effective. But the National Poll on Healthy Aging found that 14 percent of respondents reported taking opioids for joint pain.

A 2025 meta-analysis published in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine found that the opioid tramadol, commonly prescribed for chronic pain like arthritis, isn’t as effective as once thought. The researchers looked at 19 clinical studies with a combined 6,506 participants who were taking tramadol for neuropathic pain, osteoarthritis, chronic low back pain and fibromyalgia. They found that the risks of the drug outweighed the benefits.

“Given the limited analgesic benefits and increased risk of harm, tramadol use for chronic pain should be reconsidered, with preference for safer alternatives and further high-quality trials to clarify its risk-benefit profile,” the researchers wrote in the study.