In my experience, preventing inflammation after a workout or sporting event is much more effective than dealing with it once it has set in. Lately I’ve been icing and taking ibuprofen immediately following jiu-jitsu practice. I’m curious what dosage others who employ this strategy find works best for them. I want the dosage to be effective, but I don’t want to trade joint problems for stomach/liver/kidney problems either.
On the other hand, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this at all:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/
Mister, I had the same idea not too long ago, and actually ran across the same story.
What I took away from the research I did was this: Don’t use ibuprofen unless you have an injury, and you need an anti-inflammatory to treat it. To put it another way, don’t use it just to prevent sore muscles.
If I am nursing an injury (stupid Achille’s tendon goes quirky on a run now and then) I will absolutely, in addition to icing, pop ibuprofen when I get home. Like the articles said, I’l luse it for acute pain. But I don’t use it in anticipation of exercise. I know that was a summary of the article, just relating what I took away from it 
Incidentally…I realized late last night that I had a long run yesterday morning and never took any ibuprofen afterward. Considered it a sign of progress that I didn’t have any pains that would make me even think about it.
Notice that that the article is about taking the medicine before the workout. While I wouldn’t take it after every workout*, if you felt the pain coming on, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it, since using pain killers at the first sign of pain is often more effective.
I say this as someone who used to always try to tough it out until the pain reached a certain point, and I was surprised at how much better earlier use worked. And as someone whose heard the same from actual doctors.
*My aunt died of a long-term ibuprofen overdose due to building up tolerance over time. Not to worry you too much: she was taking 8 at a time.
200 mg at a time should be effective for pain relief.
To get actual anti-inflammatory effect, one needs to take at least 800 mg 3 times a day regularly for a good two weeks.
Overuse of ibuprofen and other NSAIDs causes a lot of GI bleeds, myocardial infarctions (mostly a problem for those who have had MIs before) and kidney failure. So I encourage people to take it sparingly, and not as a regular preventive, save for exceptional medical need.
I tend to prescribe naproxen more than ibuprofen, as it seems to raise cardiac risk the least. It still causes the GI bleeding and kidney problems like the others, though.
The problem I have with a lot of articles like that is that it is so subjective. For instance, one line said:
“We had researchers at water stops” during the Western States event, Nieman says, asking the racers how the hours of exertion felt to them. “There was no difference between the runners using ibuprofen and those who weren’t. So the painkillers were not useful for reducing pain” during the long race, he says, and afterward, the runners using ibuprofen reported having legs that were just as sore as those who hadn’t used the drugs."
To me, something like this is very much a person-to-person thing. However, I personally don’t pop anything before or during a training session or a race.
What I do do, though, is ice baths. When I get back from an intense training run or cycling ride - I’ll fill up the tub with water between 55-60 degrees (so, not technically ice, but good enough) and sit in that for 20 minutes or so. Tough to get in initially, but after about 20 seconds you get used to it. The cold water immersion is superior to ice packs for cooling tissue, without the danger of frostbite. It really helps to reduce excess inflammation that can cause DOMS later that day or the next day, without inhibiting (long term) any of the bodies responses to repairing tissue.
Naproxen has never done anything useful for me. I’m currently on a maintenance dosage of 7.5mg Mobic, which is doing a decent job of masking my bunion pain. I’m working towards a few 5k runs next month, then I’m going to get back off the meds and see how bad it is. My podiatrist sees surgery in my future, and my GP says he’d rather see me with a surgical solution than a lifetime of NSAIDs.
On Topic: I still get sore from exercise, even though I’m on prescription levels of NSAIDs. I’ve had times in the past when I didn’t take any NSAIDS, and I don’t recall any difference in my reaction to exercise.
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To each their own.
Studies have shown that there’s no one NSAID that works better overall in relieving pain. Some cause more GI bleeding than others, some are associated with a greater cardiovascular risk, but they’re all about equal in terms of pain relief.
Of course, individuals vary, and one should use what works for them. Just know that one person’s miracle NSAID is another person’s “it didn’t do a damn thing for me” pill.
Yep..I could have worded that better. I didn’t mean to imply that naproxen doesn’t work. I’ve discussed it with my GP (and my ortho..and my podiatrist). We actually stepped through a few different meds until we found what works for my body. My GP had a very definite order he wanted to follow, the find the least ‘bad’ side effects/risks that still had a benefit for me. But I’d still rather have some short term pain from surgery, and not take the pill long term.
And, because my GP knows I’m an engineer and am interested in medicine, he takes the time to explain some of the technical details, and gives me some insight into his thought process.
I really appreciate doctors like that.
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