When you lift weights, your muscles get a little damaged and inflamed — and that’s actually a good thing. This inflammation helps your muscles heal and get stronger, and usually your body can handle the recovery just fine on its own.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
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High doses of anti‐inflammatory drugs compromise muscle strength and hypertrophic adaptations to resistance training in young adults
The study found that taking a lot of ibuprofen during strength training reduced muscle growth and strength gains, which shows that some inflammation is needed for muscles to get stronger naturally.
Skeletal muscle adaptation to immobilization and subsequent retraining in elderly men: No effect of anti-inflammatory medication.
The study found that taking anti-inflammatory drugs didn't slow down muscle recovery in older men, suggesting that inflammation isn't strictly needed for muscles to heal and grow back stronger after inactivity.
Contradicting (0)
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