Why Motrin and Marathons Don't Mix
When I read someone's bonked in a big race, especially an Ironman or ultra, I often ask in a comment: Did you take painkillers before or during the race? They almost always say yes.
I ask because I once had a terrible experience with the drug during my last marathon and have since done a lot of research. Most recently, an article in The Los Angeles Times underscores the dangers of taking over-the-counter painkillers during heavy-duty exercise, like a marathon or ultra. Researchers have been using Western States participants as guinea pigs and discovered something every endurance athlete should know.
After the race, runners who had taken ibuprofen showed signs of mild kidney impairment as well as mild endotoxemia, a potentially dangerous condition in which bacterial toxins present in the large intestine get into the bloodstream. . . .
The drug also failed to help performance or recovery, the researchers reported in that paper and others. Both groups of runners reported equivalent amounts of pain during the race. Their times were the same. And afterward, their muscles were equally sore.
Most ironic, runners on ibuprofen actually had 50% more inflammation in their bodies after the race, even though athletes often choose to take the drug to fight inflammation.
This paragraph also was quite telling about "endurance junkies":
To learn whether the drug was doing the ultra-runners any good, the original plan was to randomly assign some to take ibuprofen and others to abstain during both training and racing, says lead author David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Lab at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. But use of the drug was so widespread and the runners felt so dependent on it that the medical board thought it would be unethical to ask them not to take it during training.
Since reading this article, I've given a lot of thought to pain management. I haven't used an analgesic before or during exercise since 2006. Instead, I've learned to better understand my body and use pain as a barometer of fitness. Of course, there's discomfort and then there's distress. I paid a very big price from not knowing the difference. Like many people, initially I had a lot of time and money riding on upcoming events and those costs trumped common sense. Then I'd go to the doctor, who'd tell me to rest until I felt no pain. When that moment didn't happen on my timeline, I went with a poor Plan B -- run through it because surely it was getting better.
So the next time you grab the Advil, think about what you're doing and, importantly, why you are doing it. That, more than a pill, is what helps ease the pain.
P.S. Think Tylenol (acetominiphen) is better? Think again.
I ask because I once had a terrible experience with the drug during my last marathon and have since done a lot of research. Most recently, an article in The Los Angeles Times underscores the dangers of taking over-the-counter painkillers during heavy-duty exercise, like a marathon or ultra. Researchers have been using Western States participants as guinea pigs and discovered something every endurance athlete should know.
After the race, runners who had taken ibuprofen showed signs of mild kidney impairment as well as mild endotoxemia, a potentially dangerous condition in which bacterial toxins present in the large intestine get into the bloodstream. . . .
The drug also failed to help performance or recovery, the researchers reported in that paper and others. Both groups of runners reported equivalent amounts of pain during the race. Their times were the same. And afterward, their muscles were equally sore.
Most ironic, runners on ibuprofen actually had 50% more inflammation in their bodies after the race, even though athletes often choose to take the drug to fight inflammation.
This paragraph also was quite telling about "endurance junkies":
To learn whether the drug was doing the ultra-runners any good, the original plan was to randomly assign some to take ibuprofen and others to abstain during both training and racing, says lead author David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Lab at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. But use of the drug was so widespread and the runners felt so dependent on it that the medical board thought it would be unethical to ask them not to take it during training.
Since reading this article, I've given a lot of thought to pain management. I haven't used an analgesic before or during exercise since 2006. Instead, I've learned to better understand my body and use pain as a barometer of fitness. Of course, there's discomfort and then there's distress. I paid a very big price from not knowing the difference. Like many people, initially I had a lot of time and money riding on upcoming events and those costs trumped common sense. Then I'd go to the doctor, who'd tell me to rest until I felt no pain. When that moment didn't happen on my timeline, I went with a poor Plan B -- run through it because surely it was getting better.
So the next time you grab the Advil, think about what you're doing and, importantly, why you are doing it. That, more than a pill, is what helps ease the pain.
P.S. Think Tylenol (acetominiphen) is better? Think again.
