NSAID patches?

[OakLeaf]

Slowing recovery isn't the only risk of NSAIDS. (And it's not just tendons and bones, but muscle too - basically, NSAIDS negate the training effect.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37341523...h-pain_center/

So with respect to the systemic effects, a patch would probably be safer (though I'd want to see studies on how much of the drug was absorbed systemically, before automatically concluding that).




I don't have a citation, but I've read that ibuprofen actually doesn't even relieve muscle pain, and that one of the most effective things to use for pain during a race is caffeine. Obviously you can overdo that, too, though.