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Commonly used and prescribed for soft tissue injuries / inflammation, but why do you take them? What effect do they have on your injury?

NSAIDS have several effects; they act as an anti-inflammatory, pain reliever and help reduce fever.

Firstly they inhibit the release of prostaglandin in the body; this decreases vascular permeability allowing inflammation to settle quicker.

NSAIDS also help to reduce pain as inflammation settles.

NSAIDS may also effect the tensile strength of muscle tissues by increasing the amount of insoluble collagen near the injury, this will aid the cross linking of the collagen fibres in the muscles as they heal, therefore giving improved tensile strength.

Why do I get them when in running?

Blisters are caused by wearing incorrect footwear, you may find you get them on the back of your heal, instep of your foot or on the tip of your toes.

If you suffer from blisters you should reassess your footwear and buy some new running shoes that fit correctly, however if you have to make use of the pair you have you can try to prevent blisters by wearing two pairs of socks or applying Vaseline type substances or powder to reduce friction (read the precautions on the products before applying).

Blisters are caused by friction. For example when running your heal maybe subject to repeated shearing against the back of your shoe, this causes small splits in the skin (epidermal layers) which allows fluid to gather between the layers of skin. This fluid is often clear but can be bloody occasionally.

Clear blisters can be burst with a sterile needle, however blood blisters should not.

Blisters can be dressed during sporting activities but dressings must be changed frequently to avoid infection.