Painkillers for Running?
We feel it’s important to bring about awareness about the potential health risks associated with chronic use of painkillers by endurance runners.
Some runners are using painkillers (paracetamol and non-steroidal anti inflammatories known as NSAIDS such as aspirin and ibuprofen) as a tool to over-ride symptoms of aches, sore muscles and injuries to help them continue to train or race.
Runners typically get into the habit of using over the counter painkillers to relieve sore muscles, to manage pain from injuries during a race, and to help reduce inflammation as a result of an injury.
Runners who use painkillers in this way may not be aware of the health risks or indeed alternatives.
We will talk about:
1. The background to chronic use of painkillers by endurance runners
2. The health risks to runners when using painkillers and the potential impact on performance
3. Alternatives to over -the-counter pain medication
SHOW NOTES
(03:59)
Why we are talking about painkillers today, plus the main types of over the counter medications, their mechanisms of action and how the body processes them, and safety precautions.
(12:43)
We consider how many runners typically are using over the counter medication and discuss if this medication is actually helping them.
(20:54)
We suggest that runners should be considering is how often are they taking these medications? Especially if say they're doing it consistently, during training. Or if they've maybe got a busy race schedule. They may think that they're just taking painkillers occasionally, but how often is occasionally? It’s important to know your intake of pain medication as it appears that it’s the chronic load which may lead to long-term health issues.
(21:40)
There's a female factor to consider here. How much pain medication are you using to manage period pains? As this may significantly increase your consumption of medication every month, without it necessarily being related to your running, but still contributing to longer-term health issues.
(22:49)
What guidance may runners follow when using pain management for acute and chronic health issues?
The advice seems to be “as a runner, it’s not really going to help you as a management tool for relieving chronic pain and inflammation”. It’s more likely to lead to you running through pain and potentially leading to longer-term injury or health problems.
We always have to remind people to follow medical advice – however general guidance on medical websites is
· For acute injuries, follow the advice of your medical practitioner or sports coach to manage an acute situation to minimise injury or to enable you to complete a specific sporting event
· If you are required to take these medications to manage a diagnosed health condition again follow advice from your health practitioner e.g. aspirin for blood thinning
· NSAIDS may impair kidney function and kidney circulation may be suppressed by dehydration so it’s advisable to maintain hydration and take NSAIDS at least 2 hours post run, and post urination, when you are rehydrated and only to take for a maximum of 4 days if you’re managing an injury
· Paracetamol – say you’re using for a pre run headache or a niggling chronic pain – then it’s advisable to take a regular dose before, during or after a run. Be aware that taking amount above daily dose is a risk to liver health. Again, advice is no longer than 4 days in a row.
(26:13)
What we all need to consider is...
