Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use and Endurance During Running in Male Long-Distance Runners

Abstract

Context: The effect of ibuprofen on pain tolerance during exercise is controversial, and its effects on endurance performance have been poorly investigated.Objective: To investigate the effect of prophylactic administration of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen on the time until the self-report of fatigue (t lim ) in runners with exercise-induced muscle damage.Design ). Intervention(s): Participants were assigned to 2 groups (ibuprofen group ¼ 10, placebo group ¼ 10) to perform t lim trials (speed corresponded to their previously determined secondventilatory thresholds) 48 hours before and 48 hours after the induction of a lower limb muscle-damage protocol (isokinetic dynamometry). One hour before the second t lim trial, the ibuprofen group received 1.2 g ibuprofen, and the placebo group received lactose orally.Main Outcome Measure(s): Time until self-reported fatigue, heart rate, respiratory quotient, oxygen consumption, and perceived exertion were recorded during each t lim test.Results: Both groups reported increases in muscle pain in the knee extensors and flexors 48 hours after the muscledamage protocol. We observed a reduction in the endurance performance of both groups (P , .01) but no difference between groups (P ¼ .55).Conclusions: Ibuprofen did not reduce the effect of muscle damage and pain on performance. Prophylactic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs did not have an ergogenic effect on running performance after exercise-induced muscle damage in male long-distance runners.Key Words: NSAIDs, ibuprofen, muscle pain, fatigue, exercise Key PointsMuscle-damage induction negatively affected endurance performance in both the ibuprofen and placebo groups, which suggests that ibuprofen probably did not preserve muscle-endurance performance in athletes with muscle damage before exercise. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be used with caution when the goal is improving muscle-endurance performance because side effects may be greater than expected benefits.

Acetaminophen ingestion improves muscle activation and performance during a 3-min all-out cycling test

“…Cleak, & Eston. 1992;Da Silva et al 2015;Nosaka & Clarkson, 1996;Tokmakdis et al 2003), we cannot exclude that peripheral factors that were not assessed in the current study, such as inflammation and/or alterations to muscle metabolism, may have contributed to the ergogenic effect of ACT. Moreover, due to the nature of cycling exercise, it is technically challenging to directly test cortical alterations via changes to voluntary activation using the interpolated twitch technique (Doyle-Baker et al 2017).…”

Acute ibuprofen ingestion does not attenuate fatigue during maximal intermittent knee extensor or all-out cycling exercise

“…However, our findings in the current study are in line with some previous observations that IBP ingestion does not improve performance during whole body exercise in humans (e.g., Cleak, & Eston. 1992;Da Silva et al 2015;Nosaka & Clarkson, 1996;Tokmakdis et al 2003). Previous studies that have reported improved exercise performance following IBP administration have typically assessed exercise performance following muscle damage.…”

“…Previous studies that have reported improved exercise performance following IBP administration have typically assessed exercise performance following muscle damage. Nonetheless, while there is some evidence to suggest that the increases in muscle soreness, pain, damage and contractile dysfunction after contraction-induced muscle damage can be attenuated following NSAID administration (Ebbeling & Clarkson, 1989;Hasson et al 1993;Pizza et al 1999;Tokmakdis et al 2003), there is also evidence that NSAID administration does not impact these variables after muscle damage is induced (Da Silva et al 2015;Tokmakdis et al 2003). Taken together, these observations suggest that the ergogenic potential of administering IBP, a purported analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent (Friden & Lieber, 1992), is limited without prior induction of muscle damage, and even when muscle damage is induced, and inflammation and pain sensation are correspondingly increased, the effect of IBP ingestion on exercise performance is equivocal.…”

“…Ibuprofen (IBP), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) predominantly used to treat pain and reduce inflammation and fever, is considered safe for oral ingestion within healthy populations at the standard therapeutic dose (Albert & Gernaat, 1984;García-Martín et al 2004). Consequently, utilisation of analgesic (i.e., pain relieving) and anti-inflammatory medication, such as IBP, has emerged as a popular pre-competition strategy in elite athletes attempting to enhance athletic performance (Alaranta et al 2008;Corrigan & Kazlauskas, 2003;Da Silva et al 2015;Gorski et al 2011;Huang et al 2006). It is believed that NSAIDs act centrally and peripherally to reduce the perception of pain and tissue inflammation, respectively (Friden & Lieber, 1992).…”

Immunmodulatorische Effekte sportlicher Aktivität

“…Eine Studie hingegen zeigt sogar eine vermehrte Muskelhypertrophie unter Ibuprofen-oder Paracetamol-Therapie (39). Eine Studie hinsichtlich der Ausdauerleistungsfähigkeit von Langstreckenläufern zeigte keinen ergogenen Effekt einer NSAR-Therapie (40). Hingegen wurde berichtet, dass schwere medizinische Komplikationen (Nierenversagen, gastrointestinale Blutungen, Myokardinfarkte) bei Marathonläufern vor allen bei denjenigen auftreten, die NSAR, oft in hoher Dosierung, eingenommen hatten (41).…”