The New York Times' often revelatory Well column offers an interesting report on research conducted on athletes who took ibuprofen before and during the Western States Endurance Run, an absurdly challenging 100-mile contest in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Researchers from the Human Performance Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus found that runners who’d popped ibuprofen before
and during the race displayed significantly more inflammation and other
markers of high immune system response afterward than the runners who
hadn’t taken anti-inflammatories. The ibuprofen users also showed signs
of mild kidney impairment and, both before and after the race, of
low-level endotoxemia, a condition in which bacteria leak from the
colon into the bloodstream. Wait, there's more: The Times reports that other researchers have found in laboratory experiments on animal
tissues that non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen actually slowed the healing of injured muscles,
tendons,ligament, and bones. That, says one researcher, is because NSAIDs work by inhibiting the production
of prostaglandins, substances that are involved in pain and also in the
creation of collagen, Warden says. So fewer prostaglandins mean less collagen, “which
inhibits the healing of tissue and bone injuries.â€Â
Yes, it's painful to read, but read more in the New York Times.