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The leading classes of drugs for pain relief are opioid (narcotic) followed by traditional NSAIDs and anticonvulsants.1 This is a change from 2004 when cox 2 inhibitors accounted for 27% of the pharmaceutical market for pain treatment.
Medication treatments may be non-opioid (non-narcotic) or opioid (narcotic). They may be oral, topical (applied to the skin) or injected. They may be purchased over the counter or require a prescription. Often medications intended for other purposes are used to treat pain. For instance beta blockers used to treat heart disease are helpful in preventing migraines and some antidepressants and anticonvulsants are effective for treating pain from damaged nerves.
Common medication treatments for pain include:- Non-opioid analgesics (acetaminophen, traditional NSAIDS-aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, etc and cox 2 inhibitors-celecoxib)
- Opioid analgesics (morphine etc)
- Local anesthetics
- Antidepressants
- Anticonvulsants
- Antiarrhythmics
- NMDA Antagonists
- Triptans
- Topical Capsaicin
- Herbal Remedies