Martial arts training has numerous benefits, which you are likely already aware of. However, you may not be aware of the way drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, can affect training. Many drugs have a surprising effect on your body when you are engaging in high-impact activities during training. We’ll look at different classes of drugs, and how they can affect your training.
Effects of Opioids
A study on NFL players found that they were three times as likely to use opioids as the general population. More than half (52%) of players surveyed used opioids during their NFL career, and 71% reported misusing opioids. While this study focused on NFL players, it can be inferred that athletes who participate in sports with high injury rates are more likely to use and misuse opioids. Those who become addicted can attend a California rehab, but opioids have physical effects on training and performance, even when used as prescribed.
Most warnings against taking opioids and training are focused on the side effects of opioids. They can decrease awareness, make you less sensitive to pain and increase the risk of injury, and cause nausea. However, an often overlooked issue is lower testosterone levels. Studies have found that 50% of men who take opioids have low testosterone. Testosterone is essential during training. Testosterone is important for many reasons, including building lean muscle mass.
Anti-inflammatories
Anti-inflammatories are often taken as an over-the-counter pain reliever. While they don’t have a risk of addiction, they do have an impact on your training. It can seem natural to take aspirin, naproxen, or ibuprofen to deal with the pain that inevitably comes as part of training, but you should reconsider taking them.
Studies have shown that aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen blunt protein synthesis in muscles, which results in less muscle growth. This is particularly important during resistance training, where building muscle strength is the goal. They suppress cyclooxygenase — an enzyme which helps immune function — in the body. Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen are expected to have this mechanism, but researchers aren’t sure why Tylenol has this effect as well.
Stimulants
Stimulants include nasal decongestants like pseudoephedrine, Adderall, and Phentermine. Pseudoephedrine is found in Sudafed and other over-the-counter decongestants. It constricts blood vessels which can make you feel like you are exerting more effort to do the same exercise, and tire you quicker.
One study monitored prescription stimulant users and nonusers. Surprisingly, the stimulant group had a lower heart rate. Blood pressure and oxygen levels were the same for the two groups. The stimulant group had a higher risk of chronotropic incompetence, which means the heart rate doesn’t rise enough to keep up with the body’s metabolic demands during exercise.
Sedatives
Prescription sleep medications including Ambien and Lunesta can affect your balance, which is important for martial arts training. They act like the neurotransmitters responsible for sleep in the brain, and affect the part of the brain responsible for balance. Some are designed to be short-acting and help you fall asleep, while others are designed to help you stay asleep through the night. These can affect wakefulness and balance during the day, particularly in the morning.
Antihistamines can also have an effect on training. They can have a sedative effect, which can affect your alertness and coordination. You may not have the focus and energy needed for training.
Statins
You might be surprised to learn that statins can cause muscle soreness. These drugs are often prescribed to lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of heart disease. According to Harvard Health, statins can cause myalgia, also known as muscle pain or soreness. Regular exercise can reduce your risk of this side effect, but a new or more vigorous training regimen puts you at higher risk. Approximately 15-20% of people taking statins experience muscle pain.
Antidepressants
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. They include Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac. These drugs block the nerves’ reuptake of serotonin, which increases the amount of serotonin available in the brain. Serotonin can cause drowsiness. Studies show that those who engage in high impact aerobic activity had a sharper decrease in exercise time until fatigue than those who engage in low-impact exercise.
The effects of antidepressants vary based on the individual, and often take a few weeks to appear. Exercise is an important part of depression treatment, but the antidepressants can decrease motivation and endurance, especially with high-impact activities.
Should You Take Drugs During Training?
Whether to take medication during training is something that should be discussed with your doctor, especially if you taking prescription medications. It is important to be aware of the potential side effects of medications, and how they can impact your training.
You may find that there are other medication options that won’t interfere with training. In the end, you’ll need to decide if the risks of the medication outweigh the risks associated with not taking the medication.
Author Bio:
Patrick Bailey is a professional writer mainly in the fields of mental health, addiction, and living in recovery. He attempts to stay on top of the latest news in the addiction and the mental health world and enjoys writing about these topics to break the stigma associated with them.
Sources
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Injury, Pain, and Prescription Opioid Use
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Testosterone Deficiency in Non-Cancer Opioid Treated Patients
Physiology.org -Effect of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen on Post-exercise Muscle Protein Synthesis
Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Exercise Outcomes in Prevelant Users of Stimulant Medications
Health.harvard.edu – Managing Statin Muscle Pain
Physiopedia.com – Influence of Antidepressant Medication on Physiologic Processes and Exercise