Prophylactic pain medication?
 

I will be attempting a ride that I am frankly not adequately prepared for. However, I intend to finish.

I am somewhat concerned about muscles, but I am more concerned about my knees not behaving. I'm thinking about popping a single ibuprofen after 4 hrs of riding followed by an additional ibuprofen every 4 hrs until I finish.

I actually have a high pain tolerance, but I'm thinking that taking something that could reduce swelling could prevent injury. I am riding to finish, not race. All the same, I don't like to do things that others would consider cheating.

What do people think of taking pain medication during a ride? Common sense, personal choice, or cop out?

Start taking your vitamin-I at the beginning of the ride. If you expect to have knee problems, it's better not to wait until it starts hurting.

If the knee does start to hurt, then take two tablets, per the label of course. I also strongly recommend doing some stretching at every stop.

I see no reason not to take NSAIDS during a ride. Some posters seem to be against it with the argument that if you hurt you are going too hard or that the side effects are going to turn you into a werewolf or something. I take a less idealistic approach. Pain is sometimes a part of long distance cycling and there is no reason to suffer from the pain or abandon a ride if there is methods to deal with it. NSAIDS are a safe and effective treatment option. Go for it.

I take Ibuprophen before a ride but the issue is simpler with me since I suffer from nasty exertion headaches. If I don't take pain killers my ride comes to a halt after about 50 miles in migraine-like
pain. No fun at all. So I don't see a problem with using a painkiller/anti-inflammatory when riding.
Just use some common sense and don't take so much that your masking your body's pain warning system or killing your liver.

I took ibuprofen to finish a 600k after encountering issues with my left ankle. I also took it to address knee issues on a charity century brought about by a bad fit. In retrospect, I do not regret taking ibuprofen for my 600k (particularly since it was needed to qualify for PBP), but I think that riding through my knee issues on that charity century and being stubborn about not being SAG'ed was simply pride and foolishness.

so, it's a personal choice but only worthwhile for a ride that really matters to you.

I use a homeopathic treatmeant called Traumeel a combonation of Arnica, Belladonna and other ingredients.

http://www.naturalhealthconsult.com/.../traumeel.html

A dose of the old Vitamin I or my preference, VITAMIN BLUE, comes in real handy before a tough day.

http://crazyforfiber.typepad.com/pho...oxen_aleve.jpg

I used to think it was silly, but then Mr. Gravity started having his way with my bones.

Sounds like a plan. You may want to consider timing your Ibuprofen dosing with fuel stops. It think it would be good idea to eat something every time you take one.

Two downsides:

1) There is some loss of performance when you take NSAIDs. I don't recall exactly how much, but it wasn't major

2) The pain-relieving effect can mask pain that you should be listening to.

Having said that, I don't think it's a big deal. I've done it in the past (though I don't think it has helped a lot).

Make sure you ride at a good pace, and if you have some time before the ride, a hydration drink with protein can help your legs last a lot longer...

Always remember to take NSAIDS with food and plenty of H2O.

Richard