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 JANUARY 31, 2011 Use the Right Painkillers to Kill Pain Early, aggressive use of simple over-the-counter painkillers can allow you to rehabilitate sports injuries without the risk of addiction to prescription painkillers, such as Vicodin. Not surprisingly, researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently found that brutal collisions and bone-jarring injuries associated with professional football often cause long-term pain, and that former National Football League players continue to use painkilling medications, they reported online in January 2011 in the journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. For the rest of us Average Joes, OTC painkillers usually are enough to calm the aches and pains of most sports injuries. Three types of painkillers are the most valuable: aspirin, acetaminophen, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Aspirin is the oldest drug. It not only kills pain but also reduces inflammation. The major side effects of aspirin are stomach upset and even bleeding from the lining of the stomach. If you have problems with regular aspirin, use buffered or enteric coated aspirin instead. Aspirin also interferes with blood clotting and should not be used in large doses during contact sports. Acetaminophen pills, such as Tylenol, have the same painkilling effects as aspirin in most people but do not have as much of an anti-inflammatory effect. They are less irritating to the stomach and have no anti-clotting effect. Ibuprofen is the active ingredient in non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. The various OTC preparations are half-strength versions of the prescription medication Motrin. They all have a very strong anti-inflammatory effect and also have pain-relieving properties. Choose whichever painkiller you like the best. Most often you know from previous experience which drug works well for you. One caveat: do not take aspirin along with anti-inflammatory agents. Since these two are chemically similar, adding one to the other could lead to a toxic reaction. So, for example, if you are taking ibuprofen for sore muscles and you get a headache, take acetaminophen instead of aspirin. Also, anyone with a history of gastrointestinal problems should not take anti-inflammatory agents, including those sold in drug stores, except under a doctor's direction. The doctor may prescribe accompanying medication to ameliorate the side effects. |
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