https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/well/move/bring-on-the-exercise-hold-the-painkillers.html?emc=eta1

But in recent years, there have been hints that NSAIDs might not
have the effects in athletes that they anticipate. Some studies have found that
those who take the painkillers experience just as much muscle soreness as those
who do not.

We are not mice, of course. But the findings imply that in people, too,
anti-inflammatory painkillers might slightly impair muscles’ ability to
regenerate and strengthen after hard workouts, says Helen Blau, the director of
the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford, who oversaw the
experiment.

“There’s a reason for the inflammation” in the body after exercise, she says.
“It’s part of the regenerative process and not a bad thing.” In fact, at the
cellular level, she says, “it does look as if no pain means no gain.”

Dr. Lipman, who is a clinician as well as a distance runner, agrees. “Maybe
consider acetaminophen,” he says, a painkiller found in Tylenol that does not
affect inflammation. Or skip the drugs altogether. “I often tell people, think
ice baths,” he says.