NSAIDs or Exercise, Which Serves You Best?

This week, let's talk about pain, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), and acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol, known as paracetamol in Europe).

First, what are NSAIDS? The most common NSAIDs include ibuprofen, naproxen, and Celebrex. There are a few others as well.

Many of us have taken these medications from time to time, usually for pain. But they do have side effects, with stomach problems being the most well-known.

What if you could treat your pain just as effectively without the possible stomach side effects of these drugs?

You can. According to this meta-analysis, which just came out in the British Journal of Medicine, exercise was found to be just as effective at treating knee and hip osteoarthritis as any of these medications.

The authors conclude: Exercise IS medicine. And exercise should probably be the CORE recommendation for treating both hip and knee arthritis. Exercise reduces pain and increases function, without the side effects of the drugs.

Good news, right?

With that recommendation, I want to remind you about my 4-Week Strong Women, Strong Bones Jumpstart. I run one a quarter, make sure to email me to get on the waitlist for the next one.

I am here to help, let's do this,

Dr. Andrea Trombley PT, DPT


Reference
Weng, Q., Goh, S. L., Wu, J., Persson, M. S. M., Wei, J., Sarmanova, A., Li, X., Hall, M., Doherty, M., Jiang, T., Zeng, C., Lei, G., & Zhang, W. (2023). Comparative efficacy of exercise therapy and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and paracetamol for knee or hip osteoarthritis: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. British journal of sports medicine, bjsports-2022-105898. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-105898