Analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs in sports: Implications for exercise performance and training adaptations.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of human and mechanistic literature without systematic search or meta-analysis.
PubMed 30102811 · doi:10.1111/sms.13275
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature examining the acute and chronic effects of over-the-counter analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications (primarily NSAIDs and paracetamol) on exercise performance, muscle protein turnover, and long-term training adaptations.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data or effect sizes. It reports that paracetamol can acutely improve certain endurance parameters and aspects of neuromuscular performance, likely by increasing pain tolerance. Both NSAIDs and paracetamol inhibit cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, which may explain observed reductions in acute post-exercise anabolic responses. Chronically, NSAIDs have been reported to interfere with muscle hypertrophy and strength gains in young individuals undergoing resistance training.
Why it matters
Athletes frequently use over-the-counter analgesics, but chronic suppression of COX-mediated inflammatory pathways may undermine resistance training adaptations despite possible acute performance gains from pain dampening.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review without systematic search criteria, quality appraisal, or pooled quantitative effect sizes. Sample sizes and specific study counts are not provided. The abstract explicitly notes it remains unestablished whether these mechanistic and physiological findings translate into impaired sport-specific performance in elite athletes.
Cited by
- supports Taking NSAIDs like ibuprofen around exercise blunts muscular training adaptations by inhibiting prostaglandins and inflammatory responses.