I have found some interesting information on Ibuprofen and whether or not it should be used. Check out this comment from Kelly Starlett of San Francisco Crossfit, who is Crossfits resident Physical Therapist......Its sounds like the best choice for muscle pain is good ol' ICE!!!!..........
"All right, let's set the record straight about this stuff.
The Disclaimer: Medicine is serious business. Always follow the advice of your doctor.
Sorted?
Ok. Ibuprofen has no place in the life of the athlete obsessed with chasing performance.
Taking an anti-inflammatory drug of any kind makes tendons and ligaments weaker, and stops muscles from getting stronger.
Is
this clear enough? Yes, we used to call it Vitamin I. Yes, we used to
say that RICE should have a second "I" in it (Rest, Ice, Ibuprofen,
Compression, Elevation).
We used to also do "21's" on back and bi's day too. It's not ok.
Here's
the low down. Ibuprofen is an NSAID
(Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory-Drug) which is believed to work
through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), thus inhibiting
prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins, are like hormones in that they
act as chemical messengers, but do not move to other sites, but work
right within the cells where they are synthesized. Prostaglandins are
vital mediators of the inflammatory cascade. The swelling and
subsequent prostaglandin production signals all of the important cells
circulating in your body to come and fix/reinforce the challenged
tissues. That's right, all that soreness you feel after Fran is the
resultant swelling from all the micro-damage you've done to your
muscles. It's this very inflammatory response that is responsible for
making you a BETTER ATHLETE. The Worst thing you can do is to go
through a horrible workout like Fran and then not reap the resultant
gains from the training stimulus.
No good coach should allow their athletes to take ibuprofen at anytime. Even if they are hung over..
Why?
NSAIDs
have been shown to delay and hamper the healing in all the soft
tissues, including muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage.
Anti-inflammatories can delay healing and delay it significantly, even
in muscles with their tremendous blood supply. In one study on muscle
strains, Piroxicam (an NSAID) essentially wiped out the entire
inflammatory proliferative phase of healing (days 0-4). At day two
there were essentially no macrophages (cells that clean up the area) in
the area and by day four after the muscle strain, there was very little
muscle regeneration compared to the normal healing process. (Greene, J.
Cost-conscious prescribing of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for
adults with arthritis. Archives of Internal Medicine. 1992;
152:1995-2002.)
Long term NSAID use is hard on your tissues and directly responsible from some pretty gnarly chronic body issues.
So how do we treat acute inflammatory/inflammation pain?
You know the answer.
Ice. (Maybe a little Tylenol if you really, really need it, it's not an NSAID after all)
But
remember, Acetaminophen causes three times as many cases of liver
failure as all other drugs combined and is the most common cause of
acute liver failure in the United States. Even recommended doses
especially combined with even small amounts of alcohol (Yes you
Crossfitters) have caused irreversible liver failure. Don't be so
cavalier about treating your muscle soreness with drugs. Taking pain
meds of any kind is serious.
Can you see the difference
between treating pain and treating inflammation? Control swelling and
Pain with Ice as seen below, it won't short circuit the way your body
actually heals itself and becomes stronger. (Hell, the Ice bath might
make you a little stronger too.)
Bask
in your soreness!Brag about it at work as your friends help you get up
off the toliet. And above all, practice all the recovery tricks you
know! These include: Proper nutrition, fluid intake, ice bath, fish
oil, active recovery, stretching, massage, etc.
Hell, you can
even sneak in another quick workout the next day before the 48 hour
soreness beat down really kicks in! Quick, let's do Fight Gone Bad
before you get too sore from yesterday's double fran! For example.
Seriously. Knock it off. Get off the Vitamin I."
--K-There-is-no-I-in-Star
___________________________
"At odds"
CFI Warm-up x 3
Complete 7 rounds for time:
3 reps Hand Stand Push-ups
5 reps Power Cleans (185#, 135#)
7 reps Pull-ups Chest to Bar
then.........
80 situps
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