O uso do paracetamol como analgésico e sua influência na fisiologia, sensação de dor e desempenho de atletas submetidos a exercícios em temperaturas tropicais

Abstract

During exercise, pain arises as a natural consequence of intramuscular pressure, muscle distortion and an increase in deleterious metabolites in the muscle. Interventions to reduce pain may increase the ability to perform prolonged exercise. Little information is available on pain-related use of acetaminophen during prolonged exercise. This study aims to analyze the acute effect of the use of paracetamol (as an analgesic) in aspects related to physiology, pain sensation and physical performance of athletes undergoing exercise in thermoneutral conditions. For this, male cyclists, trained in long events (athletes), acclimated to training in a hot environment, were taken to pedal, after ingestion of paracetamol (500 mg). During the paracetamol intervention, nine athletes were asked to perform a cycle ergometer exercise until exhaustion and a 15-minute submaximal exercise in an environment of ~ 25 ºC. Before, during and after the exercise test, the following variables were collected: During the experimental protocol, the wet bulb index and globe temperature (IBUTG) was determined, based on ambient temperature, relative humidity, air movement and solar radiation (Instrutemp®, São Paulo, Brazil). An IBUTG up to ~25°C was considered a thermoneutral environment. Heart rate (HR) was measured throughout the protocol using a heart rate monitor (Polar® FT1, Kempele, Finland). The Subjective Perception of Effort (RPE) was determined according to a scale adapted from Borg and Noble (1982). The Sensation of Comfort (SC) was determined according to Gagge et al. (1967). The Sensation of Pain (DS) was measured according to Cook et al. (1997) and physical performance. There were no changes of paracetamol on RPE, as well as it was not able to improve the time to exhaustion and HR in cyclists during the experiment protocol lasting ~ 25 min (submaximal exercise plus the test to exhaustion). It was also verified that the use of paracetamol did not improve DS under the action of physical exercise, in a thermoneutral environment and does not influence CS. Thus, it is suggested that paracetamol does not influence SD, SC, PSE, HR and physical performance under the conditions investigated. Perhaps, the duration of the exercise was not enough to observe the action of the drug. New research is needed.