Ditch Ibuprofen for a Better Ski Day
Does this sound like your pre ski morning routine ?
Early rise. Carb load with pancake, bacon & eggs. Some stretching exercises to wake up the muscles. Start getting your gear on before the lifts turn. Oh and pop an advil or tylenol - possibly to reduce the hangover feeling from last nights apres ski - but more likely to keep your muscles and joints limber to keep you going throughout the day.
I get it. Your joints can speak your age but your heart and mind are years younger - seeking the endless laps. So if only the pain can go away so that it doesn't dampen your fun.
So what's the harm in front loading with Ibuprofen? Many people consider NSAIDS to be fairly safe to take.
Just like any drug, NSAIDS can cause trouble. More commonly known is that they can upset your stomach and cause intestinal bleeding. Taking NSAIDS for a longer period of time can cause cardiovascular problems, including increasing risk of heart attack, in those with an increased risk.
From a musculoskeletal standpoint NSAIDS don’t have a good profile here either. NSAIDS stop the body from remodelling. When you work out - changes occur to your muscles, ligaments and joints. This change needs to heal so that you are ready for your next work out. If tended to correctly in the remodelling phase, your body comes out stronger.
Secondly NSAIDS block pain. Without pain as a guide telling you to call it a day you may be prone to push further than your body should handle. Next thing you know you have an overuse injury.
Outside of resting or switching to less strenuous sports - you can enhance your experience on the hill by improving your threshold of inflammation. This can be achieved by getting proper rest, staying hydrated and eating an anti-inflammatory diet.
Sleep is the ultimate restorer. Getting deep sleep is how the body remodels. Make sleep a priority. For every hour you sleep prior to midnight is equivalent to two hours of restorative sleep after midnight. Sleeping pills tend to knock you out but don’t necessarily enhance deep sleep. There are many over the counter sleep aids - from melatonin to help you get to sleep, to theanine to improve relaxation, to CBD to reduce pain that prevents sleep.
Drink half your weight in fluid ounces per day. A quick look at your urine can give you a clue if you are not drinking enough water. You want your urine to appear light yellow. Anything darker than that you are likely dehyrdated. Muscles and joints are often the first to suffer - getting stiffer and sorer as the day goes on. Consider packing a flexible water bottle with you while you ski. Throw in some electrolytes to give some stamina to your water.
You know the old saying - you are what you eat. Food can ramp up or ramp down your inflammatory baseline. Eating more processed food, sugar, wheat will ramp up your inflammation. Apres ski drinks also set the stage for more of an inflammatory body. Pushing over to a mediterranean diet - filled with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals - is a sure way to combat inflammation and get your pre-ski pain levels down. Bonus if you load your mediterranean diet with deep sea fish - upping your omega 3 content in your food.
Beyond dropping your inflammation threshold here's an important reminder to keep at it. If one of the causes of your pain is due to osteoarthritis - building muscle is crucial. Osteoarthritis is where the cartilage in the joint has worn down. With the bone on bone feel there is less cushion within the joint - less shock absorption through the bumps and jumps. You would think that less activity would be better for an aged joint. Research has shown that the converse is true. More activity leads to more time strengthening the muscles around the joint and ultimately improves function of the joint and drops the pain.
If you try all of the above & you are still finding it difficult to ditch the Ibuprofen - it's time to look at therapies that are directed at the pain generators. Contact my office to learn about the regenerative therapies that I provide to keep you out on the slopes longer and pain free.