Experiencing pain during heavy physical workouts is considered normal, and as is the consumption of some sort of pain reliever, despite medical advice on the ill effects of such a practice. Taking painkillers like ibuprofen while working out can affect intestines, kidneys, lead to higher levels of tissue-damaging oxidative stress, and maybe even a higher risk of cardiac arrest. Yet, many athletes are known to pop a pill to avoid the pain of a strenuous workout.

But a recent research has found that taking over-the-counter painkillers can not only cause internal damage, but is actually counterproductive to working out as it can slow muscle growth and strength development. According to the findings of the research published on Runner’s World, the muscle and strength gain by people not using ibuprofen was double than that of the painkiller-poppers.

Here’s what the research had to say

To investigate the impact of NSAIDs on strength training, researchers had a group of 31 men and women, ages 18 to 35, perform heavy leg work in the gym two to three days a week for eight weeks. Fifteen of them took the maximum daily dose (1200 mg) of ibuprofen and 16 took a small daily dose (75 mg) of aspirin over the same period. At the end of the study, the low-dose aspirin users had increased muscle size twice as much as the ibuprofen poppers. They also saw more strength gains.

The article also adds that it’s wise to avoid OTC painkillers during workouts, unless actually injured. Even then, the dosage should be low as it can still damage the muscles.

It goes on to suggest natural alternatives to pain relievers that can have similar effect, without the damage to the body. And one of the most recommended alternatives is tart cherry juice, according to more research carried out. Here’s what the data says

In a side-by-side comparison with Naproxen, another powerful NSAID, researchers found tart cherries reduced a type of inflammatory activity by about 38%, compared to Naproxen’s 41% reduction. Studies on long-distance runners found that runners drinking cherry juice leading up to marathon-level events had less muscle damage and reported feeling about one-third of the post-event soreness as their peers who drank a flavored drink with no cherry juice. On the resistance training front, students given 12 ounces of tart cherry juice before and after strenuous exercises suffered only a 4% reduction in muscle strength the next day, compared with a 22% loss found in exercisers drinking a placebo.

Of course, the thing to keep note of if using juice would be sugar intake, which. Although not as severe as that of OTC drugs, is a drawback of the natural alternative. But a 100% natural juice would be a good way to work around this problem.

So next time you are tired from all the exercise, choose juice over OTC pills.

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