A recent article in the NY Times caught my attention. A study came out warning against the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (or NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen) as a precaution against expected muscle soreness. Apparently, many marathon runners use Ibuprofen prior to their training sessions and their events as a way to curb the muscle soreness experienced from such intense exercise. Doctors found that the ibuprofen was actually limiting the bodies ability to recover and become stronger.
…it may actual make your chances of getting hurt greater!
“NSAIDs work by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins,”substances that are involved in pain and also in the creation of collagen, Warden says. Collagen is the building block of most tissues. So fewer prostaglandins mean less collagen, “which inhibits the healing of tissue and bone injuries,” Warden says, including the micro-tears and other trauma to muscles and tissues that can occur after any strenuous workout or race. 
Many pitchers use Ibuprofens before they pitch for the same reasons these world class runners do, to limit the soreness that occurs after. The doctors in the report seem to warn against such thinking.
If “you’re taking ibuprofen before every workout, you lessen this training response,” Warden says. Your bones don’t thicken and your tissues don’t strengthen as they should. They may be less able to withstand the next workout. In essence, the pills athletes take to reduce the chances that they’ll feel sore may increase the odds that they’ll wind up injured — and sore.
The report goes on to say that NSAIDs and Ibuprofen are great at reducing pain and soreness in already hurt or damaged muscles, tendons and ligaments. What they are cautioning against is their use in preventing injuries. Claiming that it may actual make your chances of getting hurt greater!
See the full article here:
Does Ibuprofen Help or Hurt During Exercise?
By Gretchen Reynolds
