Voltarin is another NSAID. It's heinous on the gut so I avoid it. But, it's available as a topical gel/cream. If this can have any specificity to site and differential blood levels are a thing, it's possible using voltarin topically for skeleto-muscular pain is different to swallowed.

There's also Naproxen. It's another NSAID. It's super effective for brief periods. I am massively autosuggestive and continue to believe high dose naproxen makes me high but that's me. Maybe I'm happy because the pain went away. I never take for more than 2-3 days.

My point is that certainly for routine pain management the big two are right there, paracetamol and ibuprofen. But there are other tools in the armoury, before we get to the opioids.

Premptive use of ibuprofen to reduce swelling before sport? Yay or nay? Risks of over extension and more damage because defensive/signalling pain and swelling is maybe a thing ?