According to new research, published in the BMJ, acetaminophen—known to most of us as Tylenol—isn’t all that effective at relieving pain from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis.

Because acetaminophen is one of the most popular tools for treating pain, study author Gustavo Machado, a PhD student at the George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney medical school in Australia, says he and his co-authors wanted to assess its safety and efficacy. And their findings are not too promising: “Our results revealed that acetaminophen provides only trivial benefits for patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis in terms of pain reduction and improvement of function and quality of life,” Machado says. The researchers also found acetaminophen to be entirely ineffective for low back pain.

Machado and his colleagues analyzed results from 13 prior clinical trials on the effectiveness of acetaminophen and found the reductions in pain for people with hip or knee osteoarthritis were so small they wouldn’t be considered “clinically important.” Acetaminophen improved pain in these patients by an average drop of just 4 points or less on a scale of 0 to 100. On the other hand, the researchers write, previous studies show that a regular strength and flexibility exercise routines can make a big difference when it comes to pain, compared to more sedentary folks. One study found exercise resulted in an average drop of 2.3 points on a 0 to 10 pain scale, nearly 5 times the impact of acetaminophen in the current study.

Before you toss your pill bottles, it’s worth discussing the risks and benefits with your doctor, Machado says, as every patient is different. And because this review only examined low back pain and hip or knee osteoarthritis, he can’t say whether people using acetaminophen for other painful conditions are reaping any benefits.

However, should you choose another pain-relief route, you do have effective and safe options to quiet barking hip and knee joints, Machado says. “Land- and water-based exercises, strength training, weight management, and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (like ibuprofen) have also been shown to be effective for patients with lower limb osteoarthritis.” To help speed back pain recovery, he recommends getting some regular physical activity and avoiding bed rest. (Try these 4 exercises to ease back pain.)

One place to start is with this knee-protecting move: Using a set of light ankle weights, sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your palms on the sides of the chair for balance. Slowly lift one foot until the leg is straight. Hold for a couple of seconds, then lower it back to the floor. After you’ve done 10-12, repeat on the other leg.