Over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen speed up the recovery from concussion, according to a new study.
Concussion injury patients who took the pain reliever pills recovered 20% faster than those who did not take them, said scientists from the University of Washington in Seattle.
“These results are exciting as there are limited treatment options for concussion, and over-the-counter pain relievers are readily available and inexpensive,” said study author Dr. Kyle Arnold.
The study involved athletes and military cadets who had been diagnosed with concussions.
Out of 1,660 patients, 813 took over-the-counter pain relievers after their concussion—including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs—while 848 didn’t take any pain relievers.
Researchers looked at the amount of time it took the athletes to be cleared to return to activities with no restrictions—at both 50% recovery and 90% recovery, meaning when 50% of the athletes in the study recovered, and then later when 90% were recovered.
People who took the pain relievers were 20% more likely to return to unrestricted activities faster than those who didn’t take painkillers.
Those who took the medications were cleared at 50% recovery an average of two days faster, and at 90% recovery an average of seven days faster than those who took no medication.
People who took painkillers were also about 15% more likely to return to having no symptoms more quickly than those who didn’t take them.
Of those who were 50% recovered, the people taking over-the-counter painkillers achieved zero symptoms one day sooner than those not taking the medications.
At 90% recovery, they had no symptoms three days sooner.
Those who took painkillers also had better scores on tests of how severe their symptoms were overall and how severe their headaches were.
The research team found another benefit: the earlier that people took painkillers after the injury, the faster they recovered.
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At 50% recovery, those who started using painkillers on the first day of their injury returned to their work and had resolution of symptoms around eight days faster than those who started taking them after five or more days.
Also, they found no difference in performance between the pain relievers, whether acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or others.
“These preliminary results may help inform potential treatment options for people recovering from concussions,” said Dr. Arnold, who added that additional studies were needed to provide more definitive recommendations.
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The findings are due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in San Diego, California April 5–9.
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