Lots of drugs are potentially useful - many people have tried a few different kinds by the time they come to see me.
In fact, to take that thought further, most people should have been taking significant doses of analgesia before contemplating surgery.
Analgesics I find particularly useful are: Co-Codamol, Tramadol, Ibuprofen or Diclofenac.
In certain situations so called 'neural modulators' are particularly effective:
These are Gabapentin and Pregabalin.
My favoured use is in neuropathic pain (due to scarring or bruising of a nerve root) or severe intractable sciatica whilst planning for surgery.
Sometimes it is useful to add one of these after surgery to settle down a 'jangling' nerve root which continues to send pain signals despite being decompressed.