Researchers found that flurbiprofen brought no therapeutic benefit over a two-week period following injury induced in the elbow flexors by eccentric contraction. The findings were judged by subjective reports of muscle soreness and by objective measurements of muscle swelling, stiffness and voluntary isometric force in the flurbiprofen study, which included 44 individuals, ages 18-32. The researchers also found that flurbiprofen may slightly retard recovery of muscle strength after exercise. But other investigators are now also making similar observations. Ibuprofen and similar agents are thought to provide pain relief under other conditions by inhibiting the formation of prostaglandins.
Prostaglandins contribute to the inflammatory response which produces swelling and pain.
Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain , January 1999.