Prophylactic misuse and recommended use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by athletes
PainSci notes on Warden 2009:
Good, short, plain language debunking of the regular and excessive use of ibuprofen (and similar) by athletes: “There is no indication or rationale for the current prophylactic use of NSAIDs by athletes.”
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Superstitions and rituals are commonplace in sports and range from simple activities such as each player touching a special inanimate object before entering the field of play to more extreme behaviours such as not washing a uniform or wearing the same underwear during a winning streak. These practices are relatively harmless and may reduce precompetition anxiety, but a concerning ritual that has recently developed in sports is the prophylactic use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
related content
- “Ibuprofen use, endotoxemia, inflammation, and plasma cytokines during ultramarathon competition,” Nieman et al, Brain Behav Immun, 2006.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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- Common interventional procedures for chronic non-cancer spine pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials. Wang 2025 BMJ.
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