Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Usage of Ibuprofen while in a ride

Hi all,
I know carrying Ibuprofen seems to be very popular recommendation among riders in BF. I always carry them, but never think about actually popping one in my mouth. So I my dumb question is when is it best to take Ibuprofen? Should it be taken before the ride? start of the ride? after the first major hill climb (like at the end of a Cat 1 climb?) or at the end of the ride?

On yesterday's ride, I climbed up Sierra, and did feel my back twinge a little bit. So I stopped, and popped 1 Ibuprofen in my mouth. I continued to climb up Calaveras, then after climbing the steep portion of Calaveras, I really didn't feel much pain, and I was riding this pretty good (for those not familiar with N. Cal roads, Calaveras is rolling hills). Could it be that the Ibuprofen did something to assist, or is it that I am just in better shape than the last time I climbed Calaveras?

After riding for 20 years, this is the first time I've even considered Ibuprofen. But maybe it's also because I'm getting older.

Calaveras? Beautiful country - home of part of State roller-coaster #49 if I recall correctly. :D

Your lack of pain was likely some combination of the drug and improved fitness.

I'm a 40-something Boy Scout Leader, and whenever the other two (slightly older) unit leaders and I do something that is strenuous, and would cause us to ache (same day, next day, or day after), we aren't ashamed to resort to taking "vitamin I", or "L.O.M.P.s" (Little Old Man Pills :))

If you're concerned about not using medicine, or being macho, wait until you feel things. If I know that I'm about to do something that will make me ache, I'll take two before hand. I figure the benefits of good exercise outweigh a slight chance that ibuprofen use could be harmful.

Acetaminaphen? Well that's a different story. It doesn't help near as well for stiffness or aches, and repeated use of that stuff can really be bad for you.


Z

You need to be really careful with NSAIDs, dehydration, and strenuous activity.

Ibuprofen is filtered by your kidneys - when dehydrated this can become toxic to your kidneys. Without the proper fluids your kidneys cannot excrete the ibuprofen and its metabolites. The drugs end up staying in your kidneys longer - poisoning your kidney cells. Depending on how dehydrated you are it can cause kidney failure.

Ibuprofen also masks pain - so you may actually not be allowing your body to tell you that something is wrong - if this happens on a grand enough scale you could be causing more harm than good.

Ibuprofen has it's problems too:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682159.html
http://www.drugs.com/ibuprofen.html

I tended to reach for the ibuprofen whenever any aches and pains started up ... and I believe I have the beginnings of an ulcer now. I need to go to the Dr. to have that confirmed. I don't know if the ulcer is in any way related to ibuprofen, but ....

More recently, I have been avoiding taking any sort of painkillers when I ride, unless I feel I really need it.

Instead I try to analyze why I'm experiencing the pain ... is something slightly off with the set up of the bicycle? Do I need to stretch because my muscles have been in one position too long? Do I need to eat or drink because dehydration can cause cramping, and the road to bonking is a painful one for me? Do I need to get off the bicycle for a few minutes to use different muscles? Do I need to change my clothes to something more comfortable (sometimes the elastic in my shorts can constrict the flow of blood in my legs, or the combination of heat and lycra can caused a painful rash)?

More recently, I have been avoiding taking any sort of painkillers when I ride, unless I feel I really need it.Second that. I used to take Ibuprofen fairly frequently, but then I got to thinking - it's an anti-inflammatory and it's also an antiprostiglandin (I think think I've got that right). Women take it for menstrual cramps. It works by reducing inflamation by acting against the chemicals which the body makes to cause inflammation.

OK, so why would the body make these chemicals if they're bad for us? Well, because they're not bad for us. In fact, that's how we heal - the damaged body part gets inflamed, which means it swells, etc. Blood and fluids go there. Something like that.

So I quit taking Ibuprofen unless I really needed it. And you know what? The frequency with which I felt like I needed it went down. I think I heal faster without it, is what I'm saying. Now, tendinitis issues are a different story. The only way you're going to get tendinitis to go away is by resting a bit and taking Ibuprofen. IMHO. You've got to shrink those tendon sheaths. Anyway, I'll leave it to the knowledgeable people here to argue about this.

Hi All-

My personal philosophy is to ride through pain unless there is truly a need to turn to aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or any other painkiller. It's good for character and most pain is typically fleeting.

~ Blue Jays ~

Now, tendinitis issues are a different story. The only way you're going to get tendinitis to go away is by resting a bit and taking Ibuprofen. IMHO. You've got to shrink those tendon sheaths. Anyway, I'll leave it to the knowledgeable people here to argue about this.

Yeah, I'm struggling with that right now. I don't want to take ibuprofen ... but I have tennis elbow (tendonitis) in my right elbow. I'm using braces and trying to rest it, and some days are better than others ... but some days the pain is just so bad I've got to take something.

FYI,
I've been riding through pain, and it is probably just a coincidence, but after the first big climbs, the rest of my climbing was not as bad ... but maybe it's in my head.

FYI,
I've been riding through pain, and it is probably just a coincidence, but after the first big climbs, the rest of my climbing was not as bad ... but maybe it's in my head.

No, its probably not in your head ... it does help. But be careful ... it can be tempting to start to take it on every long ride ... just in case.

Yeah, I'm struggling with that right now. I don't want to take ibuprofen ... but I have tennis elbow (tendonitis) in my right elbow. I'm using braces and trying to rest it, and some days are better than others ... but some days the pain is just so bad I've got to take something.


Hi Machka,

I started getting tennis elbow last fall and took the winter off biking and computers - in fact I went on a 4 month kayak trip. Within a month of being back home it was back and quite badly. I realized I couldn't mouse and cycle the way I used to as it was getting to the point I couldn't work. I could have taken ibuprofen everyday and the pain would still be there.

My solution was to set up my workstations at home and the office as ergonomically as possible. Next I switched my mouse to the left hand. Being right handed this seemed really hard, but now a year later I find it weird to mouse with the right hand and I move the mouse to the left when using a friend's computer. Finally I use a tennis elbow brace when cycling and I place my hands on the bars such that I am not gripping the bars tightly - in fact I pretty much use my thumbs on top just behind the drops and leave my fingers open if I am not doing anything shifting/braking-wise . Between all these changes I haven't had any problems in almost a year. Except on the first day of my Baja tour I didn't wear my tennis elbow brace and by the afternoon I felt that familiar tingle/pain in my right elbow. I wore the brace when cycling for the rest of my tour and I had no more problems.

For this and other reasons I decided to use a recumbent for my brevets this year to minimize any ergonomic problems from extended hours on my bike.

As far as the OPs original question goes. I carry ibuprofen on tour and LD rides, but I wouldn't use it unless it was essential and my first response would be to resolve the cause of the pain and deal with it as much as possible. If you are regularly using ibuprofen you'll end up with problems. OTOH I have no issues with using it occasionally.

Yeah, I'm struggling with that right now. I don't want to take ibuprofen ... but I have tennis elbow (tendonitis) in my right elbow. I'm using braces and trying to rest it, and some days are better than others ... but some days the pain is just so bad I've got to take something.I suggest really hitting the Ibuprofen hard for that. Take 600mg three times a day, whether it hurts or not. Do that every day for two weeks. Then stop it completely. It's kind of like taking antibiotics. You don't want to just dribble it in. It won't hurt you if you do it for a short while. I think the liver damage thing kicks in at about 2400mg/day for six months.

While riding, I would take acetomenephin (tylenol), rather than an NSAID. I am a newbie, but in ultramarathon running, you never take ibuprofen or other NSAIDs during the race, but only afterwards after eating and rehydrating. This is because of kidney distress caused by NSAIDs, also they seem to either aid in or increase the effects of hypnoatremia.

I only take it after the fact, if at all. X2 on the hydration part....being dehydrated can also make things hurt more. If I'm sore after a ride or any other exercise, I do the following:

1) Don't do the same thing the very next day. Give your body a chance to rest.
2) Use a heating pad and/or wrap-around heat pad if you're going to be mobile.
3) Hot tub. 10 minutes can really help.
4) Drink plenty of water and go to bed early.

If you still need an NSAID, take one, but don't use it as an excuse to work 'through' it.

I use it intravenously. That's how I get the hydration part. :eek:

Ibuprofen mainly attacks pain from inflamation and is an anti-inflamatory, it reduces swelling and soreness.

The best time to take it is before the exercise, by best I mean most effective. You'll have the greatest effect on muscle pain and soreness by taking it before your exercise. If you do have re-occuring/chronic joint/muscle pain you really ought to take Ibuprofen. Because it reduces the swelling, it'll actually reduce the amount of damage you do to your joints/muscles during your ride.

I usually only take Vitamin-I after a ride or at the end of the day while touring. If i was enough pain during a ride that I felt I needed to take Ibuprofren, I would stop riding.

I only take it after the fact, if at all. X2 on the hydration part....being dehydrated can also make things hurt more. If I'm sore after a ride or any other exercise, I do the following:

1) Don't do the same thing the very next day. Give your body a chance to rest.
2) Use a heating pad and/or wrap-around heat pad if you're going to be mobile.
3) Hot tub. 10 minutes can really help.
4) Drink plenty of water and go to bed early.

If you still need an NSAID, take one, but don't use it as an excuse to work 'through' it.

You forgot the ice.

There a number of things in your diet that encourage or inhibit inflammation.
They make a significant difference. Ask me how I know :eek:

You need to be really careful with NSAIDs, dehydration, and strenuous activity.

Ibuprofen is filtered by your kidneys - when dehydrated this can become toxic to your kidneys. Without the proper fluids your kidneys cannot excrete the ibuprofen and its metabolites. The drugs end up staying in your kidneys longer - poisoning your kidney cells. Depending on how dehydrated you are it can cause kidney failure.

Ibuprofen also masks pain - so you may actually not be allowing your body to tell you that something is wrong - if this happens on a grand enough scale you could be causing more harm than good.


I had a back problem that took me out of the running for a 600k and a completed series due to being masked from ibuprofen on a 400k.

One of the problems with any drug- and new drugs to you in particular- Is are there any side effects? Ibruprufen is one that I cannot take but the Cream for back aches is OK. Aspirin I find works for most pains but that is about the only one I take.

Many years ago I woke up the morning of a big ride with something like FLU symptons. The only pain killer I could find was a cold remedy called Mucron. It just takes the bite out of the chesty feeling and blocked nose so handy if you have to work that day. Took a Mucron pill every 4 hours and it worked wonders. 16 hours later and I finished the 116 mile offroad ride and stopped taking them. Problem was that I was shattered but it was as though I had just taken a gallon of coffee. I did not sleep that night as I was too restless. I later found out thatone of the major constituents is one of the Banned substances for athletes and I can understand why.

This kind of stuff goes round and round. No doubt, drugs can help some of the people some of the time.

Or, hey "you have to be on drugs to ride a bike all day.."

Or, it's just "better living through modern chemistry."

Hi All-

My personal philosophy is to ride through pain unless there is truly a need to turn to aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or any other painkiller. It's good for character and most pain is typically fleeting.

~ Blue Jays ~


I would second this opinion. (I am not related to Blue Jays) I had planned to do a December Century and only made 75 miles. I was on an old bike with a bent crank and my knee started to hurt at 30 miles and I thought I would have to stop riding at 50. I was 25 miles from home or 25 miles from my destination so I kept going, but much slower. I had not taken anything, and my knee hurt for two weeks after. I went to an orthopaedist, had x-rays, and concluded it was from the bent crank. I have rested it for two months and all seems well now, but I shudder to think what damage I would have done if I had popped some Ibuprofin. I think I might take some with me, but never take it until I am done riding and then make sure I take it with plenty of water!

BlueJay66
2005 Jamis Eclipse

You forgot the ice.

There a number of things in your diet that encourage or inhibit inflammation.
They make a significant difference. Ask me how I know :eek:
I just found this thread, and it has been very helpful. And now, I want to ask you how you know about the impact diet has on inflammation.

You prob know that when people from subsistence cultures move here, they start to get Western diseases like diabetes and heart attack.

Our diet is killing us.

But (and this is a little embarassing) what drove the point home was a book. Sort of.

I was watching the Today Show and this Doc is hawking his Anti-Wrinkle Diet.
Three gals tried it, and they all looked 10 to 20 years younger after a couple months on the diet. It was really surprising. The Doc said that he would like to
have sold it as an anti-inflammatory diet that would add decades to people's lives.

But then he said that approach didn't work with his patients. But he could get them to do it to cure their wrinkles :rolleyes:

But what sort of diet can inhibit inflammation, as per your previous post?

It was there, in the post. Eat like a poor fisherman. Eat a small serving of fish containing Omega 3s, the size of your palm (4 oz), every day. The diet would have you eating fish breakfast and dinner. I could never face fish over breakfast.
You can eat as much leafy greens as you want, kale is very nutritous. Eat lots of veggies and salad (easy on the dressing). If you cook them, just heat them, no soggy wimpy veggies. Except greens like kale or spinach...Make about 2/3 of the fruit you eat high glycemic. No snacking, no desserts, no coffee. Green tea is permissible but only with breakfast.

Check the glycemic index of everything. If it doesn't have a high glycemic index, you can't eat it. That leaves out almost all starches.

Btw,
evnetually everyone gets a little back pain. The cure is to make it stronger with core exercises, crunches, hyperextensions, etc.