Adjuvant or co-analgesic drugs
These are drugs which are not specifically developed to treat pain, which are used to enhance the pain relieving effects of the analgesics. They include the antidepressants, tranquillisers and some muscle relaxants.
Analgesics
These can be divided into simple and mild pain killers and narcotic or opiate based and potent pain-killers. The narcotic drugs are all developed from the age-old knowledge that the opium poppy produces a natural and extremely potent pain killer and euphoria producing substance — opium, from which can be derived other substances such as morphine and heroin (diamorphine).
Cortisone-like drugs, which are often injected into joints or into inflamed areas, have a limited role in chronic pain treatment.
The major side-effects of such drugs, when taken in high dosages, are a reduction in the body’s natural capacity to fight off infection or inflammation, a softening of the bones (osteoporosis) and in some cases extreme weight gain and stretch marks.
The intra-joint usage of such drugs is sometimes associated with weakening of the muscular tendons and the tissues surrounding the joints.
*97\37\8*
