Marathon pain-killer warning

Monday April 22nd, 2013

Thousands took part in the London Marathon safely yesterday - but some may have suffered unexpected medical effects through taking common painkillers, researchers warned.

Using aspirin or ibuprofen may make runners significantly more likely to suffer from a range of problems during the run, researchers say.

These include internal bleeding, stomach cramps, heart problems and muscle pain.

The findings come from a survey of 4,000 runners in the Bonn Marathon, Germany, three years ago.

The researchers found that some of those who took pain-killers before the race already had problems of pain. Some 20% of these said they had taken drugs during training while 10% said they had problems of pain before the race.

The study found that those who took pain-killers were no more likely to drop out of the race than others.

But nine of those who took pain-killers ended up in hospital and they were five times as likely to experience symptoms as other runners, according to the report in BMJ Open.

Researcher Professor Kay Brune, of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany, says painkillers may prevent the production of prostaglandins, which protect tissue under extreme stress.

He writes: "Taken together, our data indicate that the widespread use of cyclooxygenase inhibitors in connection with endurance sports is potentially damaging. Further investigations are warranted to examine whether the use of analgesics before and during sports activities should be avoided altogether."

BMJ Open 20 April 2013 [abstract]

Tags: Europe | Fitness | Gastroenterology | Pharmaceuticals | UK News

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