Hey guys, how badly would I be damaging my body and general health by taking two 200mg ibuprofen tabs before a 2hr football training session or game (6 hrs weekly)? I’ve taken them recently for my shin splints, which severely lower my work rates and performance, and I want to continue to take them as they allow me to run at a high intensity like I did before I got shin splints. I’ve heard long term use can damage the lining of the stomach and increase the risk of stroke and other heart problems, but I’m becoming so desperate that I’m willing to risk those things in order to optimise my performance. If I think they’re getting better, I will lower my dosage or stop altogether.

Thoughts?

Have you gone to physio or anything similar instead? That would be the better option if you’re seriously desperate. I hate giving ibuprofen to athletes, especially in contact sports, because of exactly what you said. It damages the mucous lining in your GI tract which is already in an acidic state due to exercise. And it’s also a blood thinner, meaning it will increase your bleeding rate and, yes, put you at higher risk for internal hemorrhaging (abdomen, heart, BRAIN) if, God-forbid, you took an extremely bad hit.

I went to my physio last year for it and she gave me acupuncture therapy which made them a lot better, but when I stopped they’ve eventually gotten even worse than they originally were. Another poster on this forum (in another one of my threads) said that physios can only provide temporary relief to shin splints, but if they can fix them permanently I would definitely go back.

I’ve trained twice now with 400mg ibuprofen and haven’t felt any shin splint pain at all during or afterwards, so I’m considering dropping to 200mg to see if that still works. The ibuprofen hasn’t done much to stop the pain from the blisters I’ve recently developed on my toes though, so I’m not sure if I should lower the dosage.

I believe that was me in the other thread you mentioned. You should definitely go back to see a different physio. Therapists are supposed to provide long term relief, but if the one you saw only does acupuncture, they’re clearly not even aiming for that. You should be seeing someone who will give you some sort of exercise rehab plan for long-term relief and correction of whatever faulty biomechanics that are causing your injury.

And if you’re constantly getting blisters on your toes, then your shoes probably don’t fit properly.