Thank you! could you give me your opinion of which works best and is safer with the least chance of negative side effects: mobic, (meloxicam) relafen or voltaren?

Even odds: These are all members of the NSAID family. They all have about the same potential for side effects such as stomach irritation or possibly some salt and water retention ( edema). There are some small studies that suggest that diclofenac might have slightly better analgesic effect but they all have fairly equivalent anti-inflammation properties.