ReviewSports medicine - open2020
Effect of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs on Sport Performance Indices in Healthy People: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Sports medicine - open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary supplement and medication use in professional and pre-professional dancers: widespread use but limited evidence of benefit-a systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- NSAIDs trigger drug-specific response to exercise: a multi-omics systems biology analysis of a randomized crossover trial.Skeletal muscle · 2026Trial
- Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and Collision Sports: The Need for Further Education in Rugby.Cureus · 2026Article
- Current Evidence of Ergogenic and Post-Exercise Recovery Effects of Dietary Supplementation withNutrients · 2026Review
- Pain Management in Italian Elite Athletes: Trends in the Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), Glucocorticoids, and Narcotics in Anti-Doping Reports (2013-2023).Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effect of Nitrate Supplementation on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Indices: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Cross-Over Clinical Trial.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2026Article
- Antiplatelet and Anticoagulation Therapy in Athletes: A Cautious Compromise… If Possible!Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2025Review
- Comparing the effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy (rESWT) and three conventional treatment approaches for biceps brachii muscle in exercise-induced delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS): a protocol for a randomised clinical trial.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2025Article
- Long Duration Continuous Ultrasound with Diclofenac Sodium Enhances Recovery from Sprains and Strains.International journal on physical medication & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- The dose-response effects of flurbiprofen, indomethacin, ibuprofen, and naproxen on primary skeletal muscle cells.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2024Article
- A Scoping Review of Non-Medical and Extra-Medical Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs).Drug safety · 2021Article
- Sex differences in the consumption of over-the-counter analgesics among amateur volleyball players.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are medications that are frequently used by athletes. There may also be some abuse of these substances, although it is unclear whether NSAIDs in fact enhance performance. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of NSAIDs on sport performance indices.
methodsWe selected randomized trials from the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases investigating the effects of NSAIDs on sport performance. Volunteers could be healthy adult men and women. Any NSAID, administered by any route, taken prior to any type of exercise, and for any duration could be used. The control intervention could be a placebo, an active substance, or no intervention. We included double-blind, single-blind, and open-label studies. The primary outcome was the maximum performance in exercises as defined in each study. The secondary outcomes were the time until self-reported exhaustion and the self-reported pain.
resultsAmong 1631 records, we retained thirteen parallel-group and ten crossover studies, totaling 366 and 148 subjects, respectively. They were disparate regarding treatments, dose and duration, and the type of exercise. There was neither significant difference in the maximum performance between NSAIDs and control groups nor in the time until exhaustion nor in self-perceived pain.
conclusionsThe existence of an ergogenic effect of NSAIDs on sport performance indices was unable to be concluded, since the level of evidence of the studies is low, the doses tested, and the exercises performed are very heterogeneous and far from those observed in real-life practices. More studies are required.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.