The effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on recovery from exercise-induced muscle injury - 2. Ibuprofen

Objectives: The objective was to assess the effects of two doses of the non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ibuprofen, 1600 mg and 3200 mg per day ad ministered fur six days, compared to placebo on muscle soreness, strength, swelling, and stiffness following experimentally-induced muscle injury in v olunteer subjects. Methods: A one-time exercise consisting of repeated lowering of heavy loads with the elbow flexors was used to induce injury, which was manifested by soreness, swelling, stiffness, a reduction in relaxed arm angle, and a 50% loss in muscle strength from which recovery was only 50% complete in two we eks. After carrying out the exercise, subjects were randomly assigned to on e of four groups, each with 20 subjects: 1. no treatment, 2. ibuprofen, 400 mg q.i.d., 3. ibuprofen, 800 mg q.i.d., or 3. placebo, q.i.d. The study wa s double-blind with respect to groups two, three, and four. Drug or placebo administration was begun on the day preceding the exercise. Measurements w ere made for two post-exercise weeks and compared to pre-exercise values. Results: In the repeated-measures analysis of variance, neither group diffe rences nor group-by-time interactions were observed with respect to any of the variables: measured. Power analysis demonstrated that differences rangi ng from 3% to 20% could have been detected by the methods used. Separate an alysis of data from males and females also demonstrated no differences betw een them. The time course of stiffness, measured between elbow angles of 90 degrees and 140 degrees, differed from that of the relaxed arm angle, sugg esting that these two parameters involve different underlying processes. Conclusions: Ibuprofen provides no detectable therapeutic benefit over a tw o week period following injury induced in the elbow flexors by eccentric co ntraction, as judged by subjective reports of muscle soreness and by object ive measurements of maximum voluntary contractile strength, of muscle swell ing, of muscle stiffness, or of relaxed arm angle.