Should You Take Ibuprofen For An Injury? What The Evidence Says

15 Oct

Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory painkillers, known as NSAIDs, help some injuries and may slow the healing of others. A short course for a few days can ease pain and swelling after a sprain or muscle strain. Long-standing tendon pain is not mainly an inflammatory problem, so anti-inflammatories do little beyond short-term relief. Prolonged use may slow bone healing after a fracture. Around PRP treatment, they are usually avoided for about 2 weeks because they can blunt the healing signal PRP is meant to deliver.

Key points

Long-standing tendon pain, such as tennis elbow and Achilles or patellar tendinopathy, is mainly a degenerative problem, so NSAIDs offer little beyond brief pain relief.
A 2024 systematic review in Annals of Joint found animal studies suggest NSAIDs may impair healing of soft tissue, bone and tendon-to-bone attachment, although 3 clinical studies found no increase in failure of knee ligament or meniscus repairs.
For knee and hand osteoarthritis, NICE recommends topical NSAIDs as a first painkiller option, which give pain relief with far less of the medicine in the bloodstream.
At The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness, ultrasound-guided tendon and joint PRP is from £595 to £995 per treatment, and the diagnostic package is from £695.

Injury not settling with painkillers? Message our doctors on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

How anti-inflammatories work

NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac, block enzymes called COX that make prostaglandins, chemical signals that drive inflammation and pain. Inflammation is uncomfortable, but it is also the first stage of healing, calling in the cells that clear damage and start repair. Blocking it for a short time can make an injury more comfortable. Blocking it for weeks may interfere with how tissue rebuilds, and that is where the trade-off lies.

Injury by injury

Sprains and ligament injuries

Short courses of about 3 to 7 days can reduce pain and swelling and help people get moving sooner after an ankle sprain. Animal studies are mixed on whether they affect ligament healing, so short use is reasonable and longer use is best avoided.

Muscle strains

Short courses reduce pain and help people return to activity sooner. Longer use adds no clear benefit and increases the risk of side effects.

Long-standing tendon pain

Tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, Achilles and patellar tendinopathy and gluteal tendinopathy are mainly problems of tendon structure rather than ongoing inflammation. NSAIDs give some short-term pain relief but do not treat the underlying problem. Progressive loading exercise is the foundation, and for persistent cases, PRP has good evidence in tennis elbow. See PRP for tennis elbow and Achilles and patellar tendinopathy.

Fractures

Short courses in the first days are unlikely to matter. Several studies have linked longer use with delayed bone healing, although results are mixed, so many doctors advise limiting them once the fracture is settled.

Osteoarthritis

For knee and hand osteoarthritis, NICE recommends topical NSAIDs, such as gels, as a first painkiller option, alongside exercise. Oral NSAIDs can be used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest time, with a medicine to protect the stomach where needed. Every knee option is compared in knee injections London.

Want to know what will help your injury heal? Ask our doctors on WhatsApp.

Why to avoid NSAIDs around PRP

PRP works by delivering platelets and the growth factors they release, which start a controlled healing response. NSAIDs affect platelet function and dampen the inflammatory phase that PRP is designed to trigger. Aspirin’s effect on platelets lasts for the life of the platelet, around 7 to 10 days. That is why doctors usually advise avoiding NSAIDs for around a week before and 2 weeks after PRP, unless you take aspirin or another medicine for your heart, in which case you should never stop it without speaking to your prescriber. Paracetamol and ice are usually fine for the soreness that can follow an injection.

Who should be careful with NSAIDs

Speak to a doctor or pharmacist before taking NSAIDs if you have had a stomach ulcer or bleeding, have kidney disease, heart disease, high blood pressure or asthma that worsens with NSAIDs, take blood thinners, are pregnant, or are older. Topical NSAIDs have far fewer whole-body side effects.

Safer ways to ease pain while you heal

Paracetamol for short-term pain. Topical NSAID gels for joints near the skin, such as the knee and hand. Relative rest rather than complete rest, keeping the injured area moving within comfort. Ice for acute swelling in the first days. A structured rehabilitation programme, which does more for long-term recovery than any painkiller.

When to get an injury assessed

See a doctor if an injury has not improved after 6 weeks, if you cannot bear weight, if a joint locks or gives way, if there is significant swelling or bruising after an injury, or if pain wakes you at night. Many long-standing injuries are tendon problems that respond to targeted treatment. Our approach is described in private sports medicine doctor London, and runners can read running injury clinic London and PRP for athletes.

What happens at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness

You are assessed by a doctor who examines the injured area and reviews it with ultrasound, which shows the tendon, ligament or joint and confirms the diagnosis. You then receive a written plan, which may be rehabilitation, a change in painkillers, an ultrasound-guided injection or a referral. If PRP is right, we give clear advice on which medicines to pause and when, and coordinate with your GP if you take regular medicines. The evidence across conditions is in PRP success rates, and heel and Achilles problems are covered in foot and ankle injections.

What it costs

At The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness, there are 3 ways to begin.

The diagnostic package, from £695, covers assessment, imaging and blood tests, and gives you a written diagnosis and plan whatever you decide.

Ultrasound-guided tendon and joint PRP is from £595 to £995 per treatment, where the evidence supports it.

A course of 3 regenerative treatments is priced at 10 percent off booking them individually.

Ask what your plan would cost. Message us on WhatsApp.

Why people choose The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness

Every treatment is performed by a GMC-registered doctor, and no clinician treats a patient here until they have completed 100 supervised treatments. Every injection is ultrasound guided. We start with the diagnosis, recommend rehabilitation when it will do more than an injection, and explain every step of aftercare, including which painkillers to use. We see patients at 10 Portman Square in Marylebone and the Light Centre in Belgravia, and report an 87 percent patient success rate and more than 187 five-star reviews.

Book your injury assessment. Message us on WhatsApp, email team@thewellnesslondon.com, or call +44 20 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions about ibuprofen and injuries

Should I take ibuprofen for a sprain?

A short course of about 3 to 7 days can ease pain and swelling and help you move sooner. Longer use is best avoided.

Does ibuprofen help tendonitis?

Long-standing tendon pain is mainly degenerative rather than inflammatory, so ibuprofen gives only short-term relief. Progressive loading exercise is the main treatment.

Does ibuprofen slow healing?

Animal studies suggest NSAIDs may impair healing of soft tissue and bone, and some human studies link prolonged use with delayed fracture healing. Short courses are unlikely to matter.

Can I take ibuprofen after PRP?

It is usually avoided for around 2 weeks after PRP, and for about a week before, because it can blunt the healing response. Paracetamol and ice are usually fine. Never stop aspirin or other heart medicines without speaking to your prescriber.

Is ibuprofen gel better than tablets for arthritis?

For knee and hand osteoarthritis, NICE recommends topical NSAIDs as a first painkiller option because they give pain relief with far fewer whole-body side effects.

What can I take instead of ibuprofen for an injury?

Paracetamol, topical NSAID gels for joints near the skin, ice in the first days, and a structured rehabilitation programme.

This article is for information and does not replace personal medical advice. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. All treatments at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness are performed by GMC-registered doctors. Reviewed by a GMC-registered doctor at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness. Last updated October 2026.

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