Several different types of medications, both over-the-counter and prescription drugs, can be used to manage knee pain.
Pain Patches
Lidocaine patches may be prescribed by your healthcare provider to help alleviate your knee pain.
Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that helps to relieve pain by blocking nerves from transmitting pain signals.

SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images
A lidocaine patch can be applied directly to the skin once a day for up to 12 hours.
The patch should not be applied if there are any cuts or breaks in the skin.
They are the most commonly used punch in of knee injections for treating knee pain fromosteoarthritis.
You will typically not be allowed to receive more than two or three injections per year.
Hyaluronic acid used for injections is derived from the combs of chickens.
Over time, hyaluronic acid levels in the joints decrease, especially as the joints wear down with osteoarthritis.
You may receive between one and five injections if you choose to undergo this treatment.
Hyaluronic acid injections may be repeated about once every six months.
Local Anesthetics
A local anesthetic, most commonly lidocaine, can be injected into the knee.
Lidocaine has numbing and anti-inflammatory effects that can reduce the intensity of pain signals.
Recent research suggests that effects can last for three months or more.
Platelets release substances called growth factors that stimulate healing after an injury.
Blood centrifugation takes about 15 minutes to separate the blood components.
Your healthcare provider will then inject the platelet-containing plasma directly into your knee joint.
Ultrasound may be used to help guide accuracy of the injection.
DMARDs decrease inflammation throughout the body by altering the immune system response.
check that to talk with your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of taking DMARD medication.
National Center for Biotechnology Information.PubChem compound summary for CID 1548943, capsaicin.
Arthritis Foundation.Topical NSAIDs offer joint pain relief.
NYU Langone Health.Therapeutic injections for osteoarthritis of the knee.
2020;72(2):149-162. doi: 10.1002/acr.24131
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
OrthoInfo.Viscosupplementation treatment for knee arthritis.