A study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases shows that “combination treatment using ibuprofen plus acetaminophen provided better relief of chronic knee pain than acetaminophen alone.”MedPage Today reports, however, that the effect comes with the cost of increased side effects “such as decreased hemoglobin, which was likely due to GI bleeding.” MedPage Today noted that “current recommendations favor acetaminophen for the treatment of osteoarthritis, mainly because it has fewer gastrointestinal adverse effects than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)” but “NSAIDs are generally thought to be more effective pain relievers.”
Nevertheless, if you suffer from osteoarthritis and an NSAID (ibuprofen, naproxen, others) OR acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) is not effective for controlling your joint pain, you may want to discuss with your doctor alternating the two.
Here are two protocols I use in the office:
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how does this play with coumadin
For my patients on Coumadin, I recommend they not take aspirin or NSAIDs (naproxen, ibuprofen, others).