title: Mechanism of action of analgesics used to treat osteoarthritis pain.
abstract: Acute pain is a normal, and often beneficial, physiologic process. The indiscriminant blocking of all pain can delay healing or mask serious medical problems. On the other hand, persistent pain can be nonproductive or deleterious to recovery and can negatively affect a patient's quality of life. If the treatment of pain by pharmacologic means is determined to be desirable, it is important to select an analgesic, or combination of analgesics, that have appropriate mechanisms of action (i.e., those that modulate the appropriate physiologic pathway). OA pain is an example of a complex type of pain (i.e., it often originates from multiple causes and is transmitted by multiple mediators). Therefore, the choice of the analgesics for the patient who has OA should be based upon the most appropriate mechanisms of action.
authors: Temple University School of Pharmacy, 3307 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA. robert.raffa@temple.edu
authors: Robert B
authors: RB
authors: Raffa
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011788:Quality of Life
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics