Potbellied Pig Arthritis

Question
I have an older pot-bellied pig (12-13 yrs) that has been suffering from arthritis. The vet has given her pills for inflammation and pain but it can deteriorate her liver. I am giving her 1 aspirin and 2 Glucosamine and Chondroitin twice a day and it seems to help a little bit. She also has a therapeutic bed that I let her lay on at night but take away during the day since she will tear it up. She still has a smaller pad and blankets to lie on during the day. Is there anything else that I may give her for pain and inflammation that may be better than what I give her now or anything I can rub on her to alleviate some of the pain?

Answer
Arthritis is a common problem in older pot bellied pigs. Two big contributing factors are excessive weight and long, untrimmed hooves, but even a normal weight pig with well kept hooves can develop this condition.
Keep her off slippery surfaces and provide her with a ramp instead of steps or stairs.
There's many home remedies for arthritis and no one remedy seems to work for every pig. The Glucosamine and Chondroitin is a popular one. Sea Cucumber and Cod Liver Oil capsules are two others. Some people give baby asprin.
Any sort of massage should make her feel better, but there isn't any evidence that over the counter pain rubs for humans are safe or effective for pigs. There are prescription medicated rubs for horses, but no guidelines for using these on pigs, so your vet might be reluctant to prescribe one. There are non-prescription, non-medicated rubs for horses available from feed stores or on-line equine supply catalogs. One advantage to using a skin rub is that pigs do not lick themselves clean the way dogs and cats do, so they won't lick it off the skin and swallow it.