Pick Your Perfect NSAID

Finding the right antiinflammatory may require some trial and error.

When your muscles ache or your joints throb, you and your doctor may turn to one of the most commonly used medications to ease the pain: a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), either over-the-counter or prescription. But not all NSAIDs are the same, so how do you pick the right one? Consider these factors.

EFFECTIVENESS. With close to 20 NSAIDs on the market, it’s often a matter of trial and error to find an effective one, says Clark Kebodeaux, clinical assistant professor at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, in Lexington. Just as people’s bodies are different, so are their responses to certain drugs.

“Two people can take the exact same dose of the exact same drug but have a different response,” he says. Differences in effectiveness may not be evident until you have given one or two – or maybe even three – a try.