Do pain patches work better than narcotic pills to control chronic joint pain from ankylosing spondylitis?

"Poker Back" pain: If you have ankylosing spondylitis, which can be miserable, you deserve at least a trial of any of the several new biotechnology treatments. Patches are a stronger & steadier step up from opiate pills; simpler anti-inflammatory drugs actually help treat the cause. Chronic pain requires a great deal of close work with whoever is providing your rx. Good luck with this very hard problem.

Many options: Several pain medications are available as patches (fentanyl and buprenorphine). A better answer is that you may benefit from any long acting opioid (pill or patch) given the around the clock nature of your pain.