Advil, NSAIDS Will Stop Me From Getting Stronger??

We all have heard our coaches tell us "DO NOT TAKE NSAIDS". I know mine did. I never really knew why, I just tried not to take them. I found this great blog post which explains very distinctly what taking Advil, etc. does and why it will retard our muscle growth and strength.

Some snippets:

• "That's right, all that soreness you feel after Fran is the resultant swelling from all the micro-damage you've done to your muscles. It's this very inflammatory response that is responsible for making you a BETTER ATHLETE. The Worst thing you can do is to go through a horrible workout like Fran and then not reap the resultant gains from the training stimulus."
• " NSAIDs have been shown to delay and hamper the healing in all the soft tissues, including muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. Anti-inflammatories can delay healing and delay it significantly, even in muscles with their tremendous blood supply. In one study on muscle strains, Piroxicam (an NSAID) essentially wiped out the entire inflammatory proliferative phase of healing (days 0-4). At day two there were essentially no macrophages (cells that clean up the area) in the area and by day four after the muscle strain, there was very little muscle regeneration compared to the normal healing process."

For the entire article read it here!

So what do you take when you want to speed healing and the recovery process? Well my orthopedic surgeon recommends pineapple or BROMELAIN:

Bromelain:
"An enzyme derived from the pineapple, bromelain can halt the inflammatory process as a result of over exertion and swelling. Bromelain can also provide some measure of pain relief as a result of its effects on the inflammatory process. Bromelain should be taken away from food for best results; when taken with food it will assist in the digestive process (not always a bad thing…). Bromelain has few side effects-the most notable is a ‘warm’ sensation when taking on an empty stomach."
ANOTHER SUGGESTION
Curcumin
"Curcumin is the yellow pigment of the spice turmeric. Curcumin displays various properties that are beneficial for the athlete. Namely, curcumin acts to stimulate tissue repair, which allows it to assist in muscle regeneration after traumatic injury. One recent study showed that muscle regeneration is greatly enhanced following the systemic (taken by mouth) administration of curcumin. Because of curcumin’s role in regulating muscle growth, it is an applicable treatment for sports-related muscle injuries. Additionally, curcumin has long been known as a potent anti-inflammatory agent, working to inhibit various aspects of the inflammatory process. Similar to bromelain, curcumin shares similar side effects such as stomach warmth."

ADDITIONAL INFO :

•  http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/may2008_Powerful-Relief-from-Inflammatory-Pain-And-Other-Age-Related-Disorders_01.htm 
•  http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/herbsvitaminsa1/a/Bromelain.htm
•  http://www.healthiertalk.com/health-benefits-bromelain-4135
•  http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/bromelain

So, will you rely on Fish Oil and substances like Bromelain or will you continue to take NSAIDS??

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