| Ideally this should have gone in the medical section and you probably would have gotten a quicker response.
There are many different prescription anti-inflammatory/pain medications. Etogesic, Metacam, Prednisone, Tramadol, Torbutrol, Aspirin (not prescription) etc. etc.. They all work a little differently and might me used in different situatiuons, and they all have theri own possible side effects. Your vet may not carry all of them, but they could be scripted out which means you get them from a veterinary or human pharmacy.
There are also several supplements which can be gotten over the counter or from your vet that can help to rebuild cartilage and make them feel better over the long run like Glucosamine/Chondroitin, Pantothenic Acid, essential fatty acids, Adequan, perna calc. mussel, etc. etc.. These can take a few months to start to make a difference, so you should start them now, but you still need some sort of prescription pain meds in the mean time, and probably use both to try to control this. If your vet doesn't know anything about these things, you might consider a holistic vet, and you can ask me for more info on the dosages if you like. You may want to consider accupuncture/accupressure too.
Also there are things you can do like making sure they have a nice warm soft inside bed to lay on. Raise the food bowls so he doesn't have to lean over to get it. Down let the dog jump up and down from furniture, that is hard on the joints, and limit the need for going up and down stairs. Excersice is good though, just very limited slow and easy excercise, but it depends on how bad your dog is. | 
