Ibuprofen And Healing, Probably Not

Does ibuprofen, the choice of pain relievers for most athletes, promote healing, or does it just reduce pain? That’s the question that New York Times fitness columnist Gretchen Reynolds tackles, with help from  Stuart Warden, a professor of health science at Indiana University who has studied ibuprofen and tendinopathy, as tendinitis is now known. The short answer, says Reynolds, is no, ibuprofen does nothing for healing. The longer answer is more troubling: it may actually slow healing. As Warden points out, ibuprofen inhibits the production of prostaglandins, which aid the creation of collagen, a substance that aids in tissue healing. Less collagen could well mean slower healing.