The Rationale and Use of Anti-Inflammatories and Pain Killers in the Rehabilitation of Sports Iniuries

Abstract

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics is widespread amongst the South African athletic population. This paper briefly looks at the pathophysiology of the healing response to injury and suggests that non-steroidal drugs, if used at all, should be confined to the first three days following an injury. Analgesics should be simple and effective and corticosteroid injections should be avoided whenever possible.