When using a drug to treat pain, it is very important to use it as prescribed
by the physician. Many drugs used for pain must be started at a low dose,
then slowly increased -- a method called titration.
Because not every patient is the same with regard to his or her pain and
body chemistry, every patient responds differently to each drug. Patients
with the same pain syndrome may or may not experience pain relief or side
effects from any particular drug and, additionally, the best dose often
varies from patient to patient.
In this section we consider three broad categories of pain relievers:
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Adjuvant analgesics
Opioid analgesics
Use the "Medication" drop-down menu on the top navigation bar
to get more information about each type of pain reliever.
Did you know that research studies, called clinical trials,
are currently underway to study the efficacy of pain relievers and other
medications? Please visit our Clinical Trials pages for more
information.
