Joint pain relievers: HSA Eligibility

What are joint pain relievers?

The term joint pain reliever describes various medications, thermotherapy packs, and compresses which relieve pain in unspecified joint areas, like elbows or knees. Joints are the links between bones in the body, and tend to have specific problems which are treatable by a variety of means. The problems with joints tend to have certain things in common, regardless of which joint is experiencing pain: swelling, inflammation, weak muscles, damage to connective tissue, etc. are all associated with joint pain. Specific medical conditions that can cause or are associated with joint pain include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, gout, strains and injuries (WebMD).

Joint pain relievers work on an extremely common problem; over one-third of Americans in one recent national study reported experiencing some sort of joint pain in the last 30 days. The most common types of joint pain include knee pain, hip pain, wrist pain, and shoulder pain.

Joint pain relievers come in the form of medications such as Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen, and milder drugs like acetaminophen (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons). Other items that are considered joint pain relievers are thermotherapy devices such as hot/cold pads that can be heated or chilled to soothe a joint, moist heat treatment compresses that provide heat in one direction and have color-coding to indicate when their temperature has decreased, and dietary supplements which help joints repair and stay healthy by providing vitamin D, glucosamine, and chondroitin.

Other examples of joint pain relievers include topically applied creams like capsaicin, which blocks pain-transmitting signals and encourages endorphin release (Mayo Clinic); steroid injections that can temporarily ease joint paint for several months in the case of arthritis and tendinitis (MedicineNet.com); and fluid release from an inflamed joint.