To Beat Exercise Pain, Try Coffee

Last week, while an Oxford University study reported that high doses of ibuprofen taken over a long period of time can double the risk of heart attack, attendees of a meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine learned of another way to kill pain that results from working muscles. The L.A. Times offers a roundup of news from the ACSM meeting, including a report about researchers at the University of Georgia who rounded up 9 college-age women, gave them either caffeine equal to two or three cups
of coffee or a placebo, and asked them to do a series of leg extensions that put serious pressure on their quads. Those who took caffeine, the paper reports, felt from 25 percent to 48 percent less pain during the exercise. Geezer is now off to Starbucks to kill whatever pain may lie ahead.