Pain relievers could make knee arthritis worse, study suggests

BOSTON - If you have knee arthritis and you have been taking over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen for years, you may want to cut back.

NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs include medications like ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve), and millions of Americans take them for the long-term treatment of arthritis pain.

But a new study out of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) examined 277 people with moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee who had taken NSAIDs for at least a year and found that joint inflammation and cartilage quality over time were worse in these patients compared to those not treated with NSAIDs. 

It's not clear why.

More research is needed. But if you're taking these medications for your knee pain, talk to your doctor about whether you should just take them periodically and not routinely.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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