You may also be advised to use anti-inflammatory painkillers with heat and ice treatment for pain. See the separate leaflet called Topical Anti-inflammatory Painkillers. Your doctor can advise.Īnti-inflammatories can also be given topically as a cream or ointment which you rub into the effected area. It is not unusual to try two or more preparations before finding one that suits you best. If one preparation does not work very well at first, then a different one may work better. Some people find that one preparation works better than another for them.