Pain medicines can help reduce discomfort and make daily activities easier. They may include over-the-counter or prescriptions, depending on your needs.

• Pain medicine guide
• Pain medicine: Care instructions
• Pain medicine Side effects

Opioids
Opioids are strong medicines that can help with certain types of pain, usually for a short time. Because they carry risks and side effects, they are used carefully with medical guidance.

• Opioids and acute pain
• Prescribed opioid medicine for chronic pain
• Safe use of opioid pain medicine: care instructions
• Pain control when you have a history of opioid use disorder

Cannabinoids, such as medical cannabis, may play a role in managing chronic pain. Learn about benefits and risks, how cannabinoids affect the body, and what the research currently shows. You’ll find information about different types of cannabinoids, how to use them safely, and what to talk about with your healthcare provider before starting treatment.

Some people with chronic pain may use substances like alcohol, cannabis, or other drugs to cope. Understanding the risks and safer options can help manage pain more effectively.

Resources

• Power Over Pain portal resources

Peer support and workshops

• Supporting Substance Use Health workshop
• All People, All Pathways - Peer support meetings

Injections can sometimes help reduce pain by giving medicine directly to the source of pain, such as a joint, muscle, or around a nerve. They may provide short-term or longer-lasting relief and are often used with other treatments like exercise or therapy.

• Trigger point injections
• Arthritis: Shots for knee pain
• Soft tissue injection for pain: Care instructions

Pain pumps send medication directly to the spinal area to help control severe or long-term pain, often when other treatments haven’t worked well.

• Pain management: Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump
• Implanted pain pumps for long-term pain
• Continuous infusion pain pump after surgery

Nerve treatments can help reduce pain by targeting the nerves that send pain signals. These options may help when other treatments don’t provide enough relief.

• Nerve block for chronic pain
• Electrical nerve stimulation for chronic pain
• Nerve ablation for chronic pain
• Nerve ablation for chronic pain: Care instructions