Clinician’s Brief podcast highlights OA pain care beyond NSAIDs

CURRENT FULL VERSION: Clinician’s Brief is spotlighting a practical, clinic-level question many veterinarians are already wrestling with: how to manage osteoarthritis pain when NSAIDs alone aren’t enough, aren’t tolerated, or don’t fit the whole patient. In its sponsored podcast “Osteoarthritis Pain: Beyond NSAIDs with Dr. Robin Downing,” host Dr. Beth Molleson speaks with Downing about implementing more complete pain-control strategies and helping pet parents recognize pain earlier and more consistently. (cliniciansbrief.com)

That framing reflects a broader shift in companion animal pain medicine. The 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats call for thorough pain assessment, regular reevaluation, multimodal treatment plans, and stronger client education, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all protocol. In canine osteoarthritis specifically, specialty groups also continue to stress that chronic pain management often extends beyond medication to include rehabilitation, exercise modification, and environmental support. Related Clinician’s Brief podcast coverage featuring sports medicine and rehabilitation specialist Dr. Matt Brunke makes a similar point from the mobility side: preserving function and quality of life often means looking beyond drugs and supplements alone, with attention to conditioning, recovery, and day-to-day movement in both dogs and cats. (aaha.org)

The timing is notable because the osteoarthritis toolkit available to general practice has changed significantly in the past few years. FDA approved Librela (bedinvetmab) in May 2023 as the first monoclonal antibody approved for use in dogs, and Zoetis launched it in the U.S. in October 2023. In March 2025, Zoetis announced results from a sponsored clinical trial published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science reporting equivalent pain relief versus meloxicam in dogs with osteoarthritis, underscoring how rapidly the field is moving beyond traditional NSAID-only paradigms. (fda.gov)

At the same time, newer therapies have brought more scrutiny, not less. FDA has published safety-related labeling changes for Librela and issued a Dear Veterinarian letter describing adverse events reported in treated dogs, while advising veterinarians to provide the client information sheet and discuss potential adverse drug events before each injection. That means “beyond NSAIDs” now carries two parallel implications for clinicians: more therapeutic flexibility, and a greater need for case selection, informed consent, and follow-up. (fda.gov)

Downing’s perspective fits squarely within the long-running push for multimodal pain care. Earlier reporting and educational coverage citing her work have emphasized breaking the chronic pain cycle pharmacologically while also using diagnostics, reassessment, and adjunctive strategies to avoid undertreating patients or mislabeling other orthopedic disease as simple osteoarthritis. That’s consistent with AAHA’s current guidance, which highlights individualized dosing, side-effect monitoring, and integration of nonpharmacologic modalities such as physical therapy and environmental modification. Brunke’s mobility-focused discussion adds another practical layer for primary care teams: obesity and aging can quietly erode joint health and function, especially in cats, where osteoarthritis may be underrecognized and show up as reduced activity or altered behavior rather than obvious lameness. (dvm360.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, this podcast is less about a single product than about clinical workflow. Osteoarthritis is common, progressive, and often underrecognized, so the practical edge comes from building systems for repeat pain assessment, coaching pet parents on what decline actually looks like at home, and matching therapy to comorbidities, tolerance, mobility goals, and monitoring capacity. In that environment, multimodal care is also a communication strategy: it helps frame osteoarthritis as a chronic disease requiring reassessment, not a one-time prescription. The broader mobility-and-joint-health conversation reinforces that function is influenced not just by analgesia, but by weight control, activity planning, rehab support, and home setup. (aaha.org)

It also matters commercially and operationally. As more options enter the market, clinics will need to stay current on comparative efficacy data, safety updates, and the practical pros and cons of in-clinic injectables versus daily oral drugs and supportive rehab services. The result is a more nuanced standard of care, one that may improve outcomes, but only if practices can translate evolving evidence into clear recommendations for pet parents. (news.zoetis.com)

What to watch: The next phase will likely center on additional post-approval safety reporting, more head-to-head and real-world osteoarthritis studies, and how educators, regulators, and frontline clinicians refine multimodal protocols for dogs that need pain relief beyond NSAIDs. It’s also worth watching whether mobility-focused messaging broadens the conversation to earlier intervention, especially for overweight pets and cats whose joint disease may be missed until function has already declined. (frontiersin.org)