Many drugs reduce the symptoms of a disease or injury.

This causes you to feel better but doesn't it slow down the healing process in your body?

 

When you take something like Brufen to reduce pain and inflammation, doesn't your body then thinks it's less sick then it really is, which causes healing systems to be less ignited?

 

When you have an injury during sporting, people often add ice to the injured part.

By adding ice, you slow down the blood stream and metabolism.

Doesn't this inhibit the body from reacting like it has to?

All medications have side-effects. The decision is one of risks vs benefits: are the negative consequences of a medication preferable to whatever ails you. That decision is ultimately personal, the most extreme example probably being chemotherapy for cancer.

All medications have side-effects. The decision is one of risks vs benefits: are the negative consequences of a medication preferable to whatever ails you. That decision is ultimately personal, the most extreme example probably being chemotherapy for cancer.

True, but not a lot to do with the OP.

In some cases, at least, things like inflammation can cause even more damage than the original injury. So something that reduces inflammation may help healing.

In some cases, at least, things like inflammation can cause even more damage than the original injury. So something that reduces inflammation may help healing.

That's very true.

Inflammation is strongly linked to oxidative stress. Many anti oxidants (Astaxanthin, Resveratrol, Turmeric...) can reduce inflammation.

 

It seems that fracture, tendon and mucosa healing can be inhibited with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Nothing is sufficiently proven...

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3764618/

tendon:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23982408

fracture:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23680778

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4034003/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4229153/

mucus:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11321515

In some cases, at least, things like inflammation can cause even more damage than the original injury. So something that reduces inflammation may help healing.

 

This mechanism worked well when we knew little of medicine. Inflammation led to swelling and secretions that cleaned the often dirty wounds out. Now that we know more about wound management, that phase is a bit of a problem, and drugs help us circumvent a natural and normal but cumbersome and sometimes detrimental bodily process.