Seniors May Build More Muscle Using Painkillers
Thu, April 17, 2008 at 03:06AM As the health benefits of strength training are better known, it’s becoming more popular among seniors. And while the development of a more muscular frame isn’t exactly a health benefit per se, it can act as a motivator for some people. This makes a recent report given at the Experimental Biology Annual Meeting particularly interesting.
Researchers at Ball State University, Illinois, followed 36 men and women aged 60 to 78 over a 3-month regime of quadriceps muscle weight training; a third of them took acetaminophen (Tylenol®), 4,000 mg daily in 3 divided doses; a third took ibuprofen (Advil®), 1,200 mg daily in 3 divided doses; and a third took a placebo 3 times a day. Muscle training was for 15-20 minutes, 3 times a week, at an individual level aimed at promoting significant quadriceps mass and strength growth.
After 3 months the placebo group had a 7% growth in muscle volume and in strength. The ibuprofen group had an 11% increase in quadriceps volume and a 30% increase in strength; compared with the placebo group, these findings were just short of statistical significance. When only the men’s results were considered, the increases were, in fact, statistically significant.
The acetaminophen subjects had a 13% increase in quadriceps volume and 28% increase in strength – again statistically non-significant differences to placebo. However, when men alone were analyzed, the increases compared to those with placebo were significant.
Now comes the warning. However attractive these changes may appear, they should not be considered justification for taking either of these two drugs (or any other anti-inflammatory medication). Long-term use of acetaminophen can lead to liver damage, and prolonged ibuprofen can cause gastric irritation and even hemorrhage. Please be content with acquiring the drug-free 7% improvement in size and volume of your muscles using exercise alone!
Reader Comments (1)
Excellent blog!
same as like the proverb "health is wealth"
.Thanks for sharing this blog!