In March 2016, The Lancet published a network meta-analysis of 74 randomised controlled trials involving over 58,000 participants looking at non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for treating pain in hip and knee osteoarthritis.¹¹ The researchers concluded they could “see no role for single-agent paracetamol for the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis, irrespective of dose.”

They also found that “diclofenac 150mg/day is the most effective NSAID available at present, in terms of improving both pain and function,” but warned that doctors need to consider the safety profiles of the drugs if prescribing them. The Proprietary Association of Great Britain has pointed out that “it is unclear whether investigators in some trials were properly blinded and most trials had a high risk of incomplete outcome data bias, therefore further research is needed to draw any firm conclusions.”¹²