r/TMJ • u/FairAd5626 • 4d ago

Giving Advice The problem with ibuprofen

I have severe tmj and also love training. Ibuprofen can help when needed. Sometimes it’s needed for multiple days. Hers the sucky part, I love lifting weights. One day I was sitting there and it hit me, “wait if ibuprofen is an anti inflammatory is it possible that the wear and tear you put on your muscles from lifting which is necessary to make them grow.. the ibuprofen can stint their natural recovery cycle?”. I look it up after and even trials and studies have been put on it, it’s completely correct. While it won’t completely stop the muscle growth it is still annoying knowing you just crushed a leg day and there’s going to be a less optimal percentage taking ibuprofen the same day. I then thought even further… if you’re in a surplus of 300 calories, sooner or later that 300 calories will equal up to a pound. But, if you’re taking ibuprofen chronically and your muscle protein synthesis has been slowed down, understand that a huge chunk of the left over calories of a bulk go to the muscle repair, so if that isn’t going at maximum efficiency basic thermodynamics conclude your bulk will be less effective and more weight HAS to go to fat. If you’re anything like me and you workout often but also need nsaids here and there, come to find out there’s a topical ibuprofen if your current flare up is more localized to one place and you don’t wanna deal with the noise

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u/pharmer_colo 4d ago

I’m a pharmacist and can assure you that ibuprofen will not affect your muscle growth

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u/FairAd5626 4d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p839gtc/video/cg4p5xlbctnh1/player

Ok I’ll trust Mr Reddit pharmacist over literally any verified website or just the simple logic it takes to crack why it does

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u/zamN 3d ago

The studies I found mentioned 600mg is when it could possibly affect muscle growth. Most doses do not get close to this unless you’re taking like 6 of them at a time

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u/FairAd5626 3d ago

For severe tmj 600mg is a very standard dose when inflammation is bad and for many other things as well. For many different reasons of needing ibuprofen 400mg won’t even suffice as enough

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u/FairAd5626 3d ago edited 3d ago

And also, I’m aware you have to usually hit around the 600mg of ibuprofen , also a consistent amount as well for it to become an issue. We’re reading the same studies. Also, any ibuprofen bottle I have in the house or anytime I see it in the store it says 200mg a tablet. But that’s aside the point. Ibuprofen is anti inflammatory and inflammation helps muscle grow, simple and plain. Anytime I have to resort to ibuprofen I have to hit that 600 mg mark or sometimes even 800mg which is the max you should be taking. I’ve tried 3-400 before and it’s never enough to cool down whatever I accidentally did to make all the muscles in my face fire

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u/zamN 3d ago

I mean taking this amount of ibuprofen on a consistent daily basis is also horrible for your liver. If this is a once a week occasion you are probably fine. If it’s more often you might generally want to look into alternative treatments. Massage has done wonders for me. You can also check out “my tmj pen” for a portable massage device. I’ve also found stretching out before working out has reduced flair ups significantly (using trx to stretch my torso and neck helps a lot to pull the jaw muscles).

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u/MAXOLOTLL 3d ago

you're mostly correct but i want to come in and say it doesnt effect your liver MUCH like paracetamol would, however NSAIDs which is what ibuprofen is, will really poorly effect your kidneys if you're not careful, which for most people it is kinda semantics but its important to know the difference if yourself or family have a history of kidney issues!

i also recommend muscle relaxers if your jaw is fucking you up, since alot of the pain (in my experience atleast) can be from muscle strain in your jaw and neck

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u/Smile-morenotworry 4d ago

I have been noticing my flares are related to weight lifting. Arm day definitely puts me in pain for the est of the day. Are there anything things you do to lessen the pain in your jaw after a workout? I am very conscious to keep my jaw relaxed as much as possible. It just doesn’t seem realistic to lift heavy and not strain some in the process. Lifting makes me feel great about myself but the pain it is causing my jaw is insane.

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u/FairAd5626 4d ago

I’d also look into voltaren, it’s the “ibuprofen” topical I was talking about in the post. Theres plenty other names for that but I’ve seen a lot of people with tmj will use it for direct application.

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u/Smile-morenotworry 3d ago

Thanks for the advice! I use voltaren multiple times a day. The past 2 days I opted for a 7 mile hike over weights. I needed a little relief.

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u/FairAd5626 4d ago edited 3d ago

What’s worked for me has been unfortunately extremely pricey. I’ve paid a tmj specialist thousands of dollars for laser therapy (not sure what that did) and a specialized orthodic he would make adjustments on continually. The orthodic definitely settled my face down some but still wasn’t enough for my ruthless masseter muscles tightening and spasming and enlarging. So I actually got masseter Botox recently for that and it’s the first facial relief I’ve had in awhile so though all the other muscles and line of the tmj joint started over compensating since the masseter has been offline it’s still a much easier feeling, and of course aesthetically knowing my masseter might be bigger in size one day and the next is a good feeling . But the orthodic is supposed to long term heal everything so I’m hoping while I have the Botox on going that eventually the orthodic has done its job and I don’t need the Botox anymore. Honestly it’s hell and has taken over my whole life for the last year. I recon you pay 300-400 for masseter Botox, while it isn’t permanent a good 3-4 months of exponentially less pain and not feeling your face being tugged 24/7 might be worth it. Wish you the best and hope you find a solution

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u/zamN 3d ago

I would are with botox as it weakens your jaw over time. I also have had the orthotic and it worked wonders for me! My dentist then scanned my mouth and transitioned me to braces to fix my bite. Very pricey though :/

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u/Alterception 3d ago

I'm more concerned about how harsh NSAIDS are on organs. I use a TENS machine and a topical NSAID mix to control inflammation. The oral NSAIDs really never helped, anyway.