Do you take painkillers, ibuprofen, etc. when hiking?

[The Unstrung Harp]

(This is actually mostly unrelated to my other post. This time I'm talking, like, painkillers for knees, ankles, back, etc.)

I am curious. Do you hike drug-free or do you dose up on Advil, Motrin, etc at some point (before, during, after)? Can you get through the day without it?

I am of several schools of thought on this.

One, I don't like or trust pills and don't want the anywhere near me!

Two, I highly appreciate the power of NSAIDs, and will do whatever it takes to minimize inflammation, as I would like my joints to last a very long time. Down with inflammation!

What's normal for you-all? I am also curious about how this relates to age range, and if people of a certain age tend to use more than others.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

I am 72 years old, hike as hard as my aging body allows, drug-free.

I am not sure how useful NSAIDs really are. For years, like many hikers, I regularly used them. Then the COX-inhibitor scare got me thinking, and I stopped using them. Funny thing, I felt no more soreness after stopping them than I had fely while using them!

 

[dr_wu002]

I drink a lot during hikes (before and after too). Usually IPA's.

-Dr. Wu

 

[TrishandAlex]

I take aspirin on cold-weather hikes, but not for the reasons I assume you're thinking of.

I have a genetic predisposition to blood clots. The doc says as long as I take all my vitamins, I'm fine and don't need to take anything else. Yet since cold weather contributes to the risk of blood clotting, I feel psychologically better if I'm popping baby aspiring the entire time I'm out there.

 

[arghman]

if I were hiking a very long/strenuous hike, something I don't do often, I'd probably take some vitamin N (naproxen -- since ibuprofen & me do not agree) beforehand. Won't do it regularly, but it would be good to keep the inflammation down + recover more quickly.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Moh: 72 and no painkillers = WOW. Awesome.


dr: I read in a Hiking 101 manual that IPA stands for It's Prettymuchlike Advil.

 

[the_swede]

Headaches run in my family. If I push myself hard on a hike and I don't eat enough constantly, I'll get one. So I'll pop two Excedrin and away the headache goes!

 

[Juniper]

Aleve is my friend. I take it early in the morning before I hike...and if it's going to be a big day, I take my first dose at dinner time the night before. If I'm backpacking, I keep taking it until I'm done. I have knee issues that don't bother me too much unless I let inflammation get out of hand...so I try to keep it in check. As soon as I'm done hiking, no more drugs. When I don't do this, I find it makes a big difference.

You said you have headaches...I've never found naproxin sod or ibuprofen to help with headaches (which I rarely have, thankfully). Good ole aspirin or one like excedrin with a little caffeine seems to work better.

oh, and i do mix in a few IPAs every now and then

 

[TEO]

First, I would encourage you to confirm what I'm going to say with your doctor or pharmacist. Taking drug advice over the internet may not be the wisest course.

You will not experience Ibuprofen's anti-inflammatory benefits from taking a couple of pills after a hike. To get the anti-inflammatory effect, you need to build up a minimum level of ibuprofen in your blood stream, which means taking it regularly several times a day for one week before the anti-inflammatory effects kick in.

When I injured my rotator cuff years ago and when I sprained my ankle this spring, the doctor recommended 3-4 (4 if my stomach could handle it) 200 mg pills four times a day. That's 3200 mg/day. In both cases for at least two-three months. That's a lot of ibuprofen. You should only be taking that much per a doctor's recommendation to treat a specific injury or other problem.

So, if you're taking a handful of ibuprofen after a hike, remember that all the drug is doing is blocking the pain. You are not reducing inflammation. If you want an anti-inflammatory treatment that works instantly, use ice.

 

[Tom Rankin]

For a long hike, I might pop an Alleve before we start.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

These replies are all great, thanks and keep them coming. (And don't worry, I am not looking for advice. Just wondering what works for everyone else. Again, this is not related to the headache thread! Just trying to get a sense of what is happening around me.)

 

[una_dogger]

Alieve on big hikes/backpacks/long runs/long bike rides.

Vitamin I stopped cutting it for me a few years ago. I could take 800 mg and feel no relief.

Raw flax and omega 3-6-9 rich foods and/or evening primrose/fish/flax oil supps are natural anti inflammatories. They are a staple of my(our; as in he eats what I serve) diet.

 

[jniehof]

I want to be "in tune" with what's happening with my body, so I only take painkillers if it's necessary to get me out. If it's bad enough on my way up, it's bad enough to turn around.

I've only needed to pop the ibuprofen once, when my knee locked up in January 2007 and I couldn't move it for the pain. I spent a few weeks after that on minimal activity and megadoses of ibuprofen.

I didn't take any painkillers when I sprained my ankle, because I didn't want to be dulled to possible damage as I walked out.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I'm conservative in terms of painkillers. I carry ibuprofen, but rarely use it. In my view, pain is the body warning me to slow down/take it easy. By masking pain, I run the risk of serious or permanent injury.

Occasionally I'll take ibuprofen after a particularly long/difficult trek, as it will relieve muscle aches/pains and as a result will sleep better. I try to use the stuff sparingly.

But, that's me. YMMV.

 

[una_dogger]

Adding ice to my list. Ice is an excellent and often overlooked anti inflammatory/pain reliever. At one time, I kept frozen veggies in a small cooler in my car, and popped a bag of frozens on my thighs for the ride home.

Jniehof, I hear you on not wanting to mask pain. However, one thing I learned during PT for ITB issues, is that inflammation leads to scar tissue...so reducing inflammation for that reason alone is important.

Hope you are doing better since your accident!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I had a doctor advise me to take 4x200mg Advil 3x per day for 3 weeks when I had knee pains. It didn't help me much, if at all.

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

Just the usual cautions:

High does of acetaminophen (Tylenol, Panadol) can cause liver damage. Combining it with alcohol can increase the chance of damage. Drug-induced liver damage is a major cause of liver replacements.

The NSAIDs (aspirin (Bayer, Bufferin), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve)) can cause stomach irritation and bleeding and/or other side effects.

(Excedrin, mentioned earlier, contains both acetaminophen and aspirin.)


In answer to the original question, no I don't normally take any painkillers when hiking. I do have an occasional sharp pain in my ankle which responds well to ibuprofen and take it only when the pain occurs. (I consider pain a useful warning and prefer to suppress it only when it interferes with function.)

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Adding ice to my list. Ice is an excellent and often overlooked anti inflammatory/pain reliever. At one time, I kept frozen veggies in a small cooler in my car, and popped a bag of frozens on my thighs for the ride home.

Ice* is a good and relatively safe anti-inflammatory agent. My instructions have always been to use it for no more than 20 minutes at a time and to place a layer of cloth between the ice and your skin to prevent cold injury. (My PT used to put an ice pack inside a pillow cover.) One can get very nice ice packs at the drugstore--they don't drip like melting ice. The flat ice packs can be held in place with a pressure bandage. (You can also put ice or slush ice in a ziplock bag.)

* Pure water ice is ok, but frozen water + anything else (eg veggies) can be dangerous. Whenever you add anything to water, its freezing temp is lowered and if lowered below that of tissue it can potentially freeze the tissue. Since tissue is bathed in salt water, its freezing point is a little below that of pure water and thus cannot be frozen by pure water ice.

Pressure is also a good anti-inflammatory agent. Pressure bandages work well, but should be wrapped very gently if they are to be left in place for extended periods. (Otherwise they will cut off circulation to the skin and become very uncomfortable.)

Jniehof, I hear you on not wanting to mask pain. However, one thing I learned during PT for ITB issues, is that inflammation leads to scar tissue...so reducing inflammation for that reason alone is important.

However, inflammation is also an important part of healing so blanket suppression of all inflammation is not a good idea.

Doug

 

[una_dogger]

Veggies are dangerous!!!??

Even through the plastic frozen veggie contact??!!

Thought that was a given!

My reasoning is some cold, some lowering of temperature is better than none, albiet this is totally anectdotal, but I did feel relief.

However, I will give you this, putting a vegetable on your bare skin could be considered extremely dangerous.

 

[DougPaul]

Veggies are dangerous!!!??

Even through the plastic frozen veggie contact??!!

Thought that was a given!

My reasoning is some cold, some lowering of temperature is better than none.

However, I will give you this, putting a vegetable on your bare skin could be considered extremely dangerous.

Eating veggies is even more dangerous...

The risk probably isn't very high, but IMO better to be safe and use only pure water ice or a commercial icepack.

Doug