Pain & Anti-inflammatories
Pain has many causes, and the medicines here reach it through several different mechanisms. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the largest group, alongside corticosteroids, muscle relaxants, migraine medicines and local anaesthetics.
Diclofenac Tablets
50mg · 100mg
Designed to support physiological comfort to manage musculoskeletal joint inflammation and alleviate painful cramping.
Prednisolone Tablets
5mg · 10mg · 20mg · 40mg
Utilised to manage systemic inflammatory states to alleviate physical pain and support immune system normalisation.
Etodolac Tablets and Capsules
200mg · 300mg · 400mg
Designed to support physical comfort to manage articular joint swelling and alleviate acute structural pain.
Voveran Sr
100mg
Formulated to alleviate chronic joint inflammation to support physical mobility and target structural skeletal pain.
Aristocort
4mg · 10mg · 15mg · 40mg
Designed to support inflammatory suppression to manage immune overactivation and alleviate systemic tissue swelling.
Low Dose Naltrexone Capsules
1.5mg
Developed to mitigate chronic neuropathic pain and fatigue to support cellular immune safety and target cytokine release.
Prilox Cream
2.5% + 2.5% 30g
Developed to mitigate local skin sensitivity to support minor medical procedures and alleviate procedural pain.
Azulfidine
500mg
Utilised to manage intestinal and joint tissue inflammation to alleviate painful swelling and support mucosal healing.
Aceclofenac Tablets
100mg
Inhibits cyclo-oxygenase enzymes to reduce prostaglandin synthesis, providing relief of pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
Key points
- The NHS lists ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, mefenamic acid, celecoxib, etoricoxib and indometacin among NSAIDs, available as tablets, capsules, gels or sprays.
- NICE distinguishes chronic primary pain, which has no clear underlying cause, from chronic secondary pain, which is a symptom of another condition.
- Corticosteroids, muscle relaxants and local anaesthetics reach pain through mechanisms different from NSAIDs.
NSAIDs for pain and inflammation
Celebrex, Mobic, diclofenac tablets, Voveran SR, Etodolac Tablets, Indocin, Arcoxia, Feldene, Aceclofenac Tablets and Ansaid treat osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, and several also cover gout, migraine, dental or period pain depending on the product. Ponstel and Toradol treat pain without an osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis indication: period pain for Ponstel, and short-term severe pain for Toradol. Cartidin contains diacerein for osteoarthritis through a different mechanism, and Pletal and Trental treat leg pain caused by poor circulation during exercise.
Corticosteroids and disease-modifying medicines
Deltasone, Prednisolone Tablets, Orapred, Medrol, Aristocort and Calcort are corticosteroids for inflammatory and allergic conditions. Azulfidine, Imuran and Arava treat rheumatoid arthritis, and Imuran also helps prevent kidney transplant rejection. Benemid treats gout and high uric acid, also alongside penicillin treatment.
Muscle relaxants and spasticity
Flexeril, Robaxin and Skelaxin treat acute muscle spasm, while Tizacare, Baclosign and Lioresal treat longer-term spasticity; Baclosign and Lioresal both contain baclofen.
Migraine and local anaesthesia
Imitrex treats cluster headache as well as migraine, and Rizact treats migraine attacks. Xylocaine contains lidocaine and Prilox Cream combines lidocaine with prilocaine; both numb the skin rather than treat pain from within the body.
Medicines here for reasons other than pain
Several other medicines appear here for reasons unrelated to pain: Periactin and Rhinocort for allergic conditions, Entocort for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, Colospa for irritable bowel syndrome, Nimotop for complications after a subarachnoid haemorrhage, Mestinon for myasthenia gravis, Urispas for bladder spasm, Pirfenex for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Elavil for depression, and Low Dose Naltrexone Capsules for fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis related fatigue.
Further reading
Related articles
28 Jul 2026 ⋅ 9 min read
Anti-Inflammatory Painkillers: The Warnings That Come With Them
NSAIDs carry boxed warnings for heart attack, stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding that can be fatal and can occur without warning symptoms. What the labels actually say, who is most at risk, and why some are limited to five days.
Read guide
28 Jul 2026 ⋅ 8 min read
Baclofen: What It Treats, the Drowsiness, and Why You Never Stop It Suddenly
Baclofen is a muscle relaxant for spasticity, most often from multiple sclerosis. Drowsiness affected up to 63% of people in trials, and hallucinations and seizures have occurred on abrupt withdrawal.
Read guide