Unbeknownst to Ovid, his philosophical words would be relevant to the field of exercise physiology in the 21st century. A new study published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism has found that taking a single dose of Ibuprofen does not improve maximal intensity or “all-out” exercise performance.
The new research builds on a previous study that found that Ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently used medicines both in the United States and worldwide. NSAIDs have been used for over half a century to reduce an individual’s perception of pain and to decrease tissue inflammation.
Interestingly, it is not uncommon for athletes to use NSAIDs as a means to augment their training and competition performance. Another recent found that NSAIDs such as acetaminophen can decrease an individual’s perception of pain and slow the rate of muscle fatigue during exercise, allowing athletes to train harder and to perform for longer periods of time. However, substantial evidence supporting a link between Ibuprofen intake and benefits to athletic performance is lacking.
Researchers from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom sought to determine if a standard, single dose of Ibuprofen (400 mg) was beneficial to all-out exercise performance compared with a placebo in male recreational athletes.
The researchers demonstrated that a single dose of Ibuprofen does not slow the rate of fatigue development during 60 repeated maximal contractions of the thigh muscles. Study participants were asked to perform 3-second all-out leg extensions followed by 2 seconds of relaxation, and the researchers found no significant difference in the power produced between the Ibuprofen and placebo groups. Furthermore, these authors found that a standard, single dose of Ibuprofen (400 mg) did not improve performance during a 3-minute all-out sprint cycling effort.
Although other NSAIDs like acetaminophen have been shown to positively impact athletic performance, Ibuprofen does not appear to have this same effect. The study cautions against the use of Ibuprofen for enhancing athletic performance due to the apparent lack of benefit, and taking Ibuprofen can blunt inflammatory responses that are necessary for skeletal muscle adaptations to exercise training.
Dr. Paul Morgan, a lead author of this study, stated, “it is possible that Ibuprofen may [improve exercise performance] at higher doses, but individuals wishing to explore the use of Ibuprofen should do so with caution and awareness of the potential side effects”. Ultimately, the authors do not condone the use of Ibuprofen for athletic performance.
Based on these findings, perhaps, when performing an intense workout, it may be better to adopt Ovid’s mentality to “be patient and tough” as “someday this pain will be useful to you”.
Read the full paper: Acute ibuprofen ingestion does not attenuate fatigue during maximal intermittent knee extensor or all-out cycling exercise in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
