Osteoarthritis can be aptly described as “enduring”. Once you’ve dealt with it, you have to have the courage and patience to deal with it. But perseverance alone is not enough, “time to judge the situation” is particularly important, as the disease continues to change different treatment plans, so that you can really “live in peace” with the disease. Although in the early stages of the disease, weight loss and reasonable exercise (such as avoiding prolonged running, jumping, squatting, and reducing stair climbing) are essential to alleviate the disease, as the disease progresses, it becomes clear that it is difficult to control the disease with these alone. At this point, the treatment plan must always be changed according to the situation, and the most straightforward is to administer medication. Nowadays, however, reluctance to use medications and irregular use of medications are common, which directly contributes to the increasingly worrisome quality of life of arthritis patients. Patients with osteoarthritis can achieve a better quality of life with regular medication. If a patient feels that pain is no longer controlled without medication, then do not hesitate. Treatment is still dominated by analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. However, although they all aim to reduce and eliminate pain, correct deformities, improve and restore joint function, and improve quality of life, the effects and targeting of different drugs are different. For example, acetaminophen is a moderate pain reliever that can be used to relieve pain caused by mild osteoarthritis, but has no effect on inflammation; non-steroidal drugs represented by ibuprofen can effectively inhibit the production of prostaglandins, thereby reducing both inflammation and pain; COX-2 selective inhibitors are also effective, but because they are prescription drugs, they are not easy to use. The most important thing is that it is not easy to use, and the long-term use of large amounts of drugs will have a greater impact on the cardiovascular system; strong analgesics can be used to deal with very severe pain, but it is easy to addiction, so the clinical use is generally not easy. “The medication must be targeted to the patient’s specific situation so that the best results can be achieved.” When it’s time to take the plunge, don’t let some of the so-called anecdotal evidence about the side effects of pain medications stop you. The fact is that medications play a considerable, if not a major, role with patients with osteoarthritis. And research on the safety of drugs is ongoing, especially the over-the-counter drugs currently on the market are heavily tested, and as long as they are used in accordance with the instructions, there will be no problems at all, so don’t let a little go to waste.