Whether you’ve just strained a muscle or you’ve got a nagging joint injury, most people tend to reach for NSAIDS like Ibuprofen to take the edge off.  Unfortunately, we all know that taking these can kick the crap out of your stomach and cause pretty severe irritation.  If that doesn’t sound like your idea of a solution, here’s a great little tip that I picked up from chiropractor David Leaf that just might help you out.

In Europe they actually sell Ibuprofen in gel form that you can apply on the skin over top of the affected area.  As it turns out, when ibuprofen is applied to the skin in a topical application it is absorbed into the underlying tissues, where it reduces pain and inflammation in the local area without wreaking havoc on your stomach.

However, if you’re in North America and such a gel isn’t available you can just go pick up some Ibuprofen gel capsules at the drug store, cut them open, and apply them to the area where you’ve got pain.

Now I’m expecting that I shouldn’t have to give a warning here, but just in case:

Don’t be a moron and put it in your eyes or on open wounds.

And just remember that acute injuries can be tendonitis, but more chronic pain is more likely to be tendonosis.  The treatment is different for both.  For acute injuries the old RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) acronym works well.

If you’ve got ongoing pain you need to get some soft tissue work done (like deep tissue massage, ART, or laser) and do some eccentric training.  By persistently taking NSAIDS you’re just putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.