I used to take ibuprofen almost every day when I was hiking.
I remember on my first hike of the PCT(Pacific Crest Trail) having to buy 5 little bottles of ibuprofen just to finish the last 90 miles.
On my last day on the Appalachian Trail, I got up early, swallowed every last pain reliever I had, and said, “That’s enough to get me up Katahdin; I don’t know about back down but I’ll make it up.”
No one should take as many pain relievers as I did. It’s a wonder I didn’t end up dead. In later hikes I felt I could use less ibuprofen by taking it prophetically in the morning before the pain started.
This article, “Does Ibuprofen Help or Hurt During Exercise?”, says taking ibuprofen before and during exercise could have a detrimental effect on your health and performance.
Good thing I don’t need pain relievers anymore. My last two thru-hikes of the PCT, I hardly used any pain relievers. I attribute this miracle to taking Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl & Alpha Lipoic Acid.
I started taking it to improve brain function. Old mice given Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl & Alpha Lipoic Acid were able to to run a maze as fast a young mice. The scientist said this pointed to an increase in mental function.
Maybe the reason the old mice could run the maze as fast as the young ones is the supplement stopped their knees from hurting….that’s what it did for me.
Related post: The Cure for Sore Knees (I think)
I read some other reviews on this stuff as well and most found it helpful so I thought I’d give it a go. I remember you writing about this when you first started using it and how you had said it helped. Thanks for the reminder.
I used much less ibuprophen than last year. I took it only if pain prevented me from falling asleep. I attribute my decreased pain this year to knowing my feet a lot better. My shoes didn’t hurt as much as last year. And I carried a lighter pack, too, which helped. I also took EmergenC, the joint health formula. I had some vitamin deficiencies last year and didn’t have them this year.
What vitamin deficiencies did you have?
I alwayѕ spent my half аn houг to read this blog’s content everyday along with a cup of coffee.