Painkillers: Hardly News From The University Of Bern.

Paracetamol is useless at treating arthritis pain - whatever the dose, major study finds.

If a pain is masked by a painkiller, it stands to reason that no good whatsoever is being done to the underlying condition. Ibuprofen however, is an anti-inflammatory and as such can regulate the underlying condition - albeit temporarily. Ibuprofen is not good for you, so should not be taken over time. A former JP colleague who was a pharmacist did give me a useful tip: for a bad headache, for instance, have one Ibuprofen and one Paracetamol. The effect on pain is greater than the sum of the individual parts - far better than two of the same. He was right.