When I ran a marathon in my jogging days, I was shocked at the number of people I saw popping ibuprofen at seemingly every rest stop. I remember thinking to myself, “Do people’s runs hurt? If so, why are they doing it?”
I have only spent a short time in practice. But I am equally shocked that nearly every patient with pain takes ibuprofen for it. One chronic low back pain patient told me he takes SIX 500 mg caps at a time. He said it casually, like it was no big whoop. “It’s just ibuprofen.”
So, it is well documented that ibuprofen damages the kidneys, making it a fancy word called “nephrotoxic.” What do you get over time when you kill the kidney? You’ve got it – BACK PAIN, not to mention increased chances of acute renal failure.
According to recent research, ibuprofen actually does a swell job of killing the guts, too. And, prolonged usage actually CAUSES systemic inflammation.
If you take ibuprofen, measure your risk:benefit ratio. Hopefully you appreciate your kidneys and GI tract and limit your usage. Get your pain properly diagnosed and get out of it. You are not ibuprofen deficient, I promise.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley