The role of topical Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in the management of joint pain in the community

摘要

Joint pain is an extremely common cause of pain and disability1 and accounts for a large number of presentations to pharmacists and their teams.Joint pain,including osteoarthritis,becomes more common with age,but other risk factors include obesity.With increasing life expectancy and an ever-growing incidence of obesity in the UK2,coupled with government moves to encourage patients to purchase medications such as analgesics from their pharmacist rather than obtaining them on prescription3,the role of the pharmacist in the pharmacological management of joint pain looks set to continue to rise.