Washington: A new study has found that paracetamol has a significant effect on exercise performance and the body's ability to cope with the thermal challenge of exercise in the heat.
The research team have previously shown that paracetamol can improve endurance performance through a reduction in exercise-induced pain.
This study suggests, for the first time, that paracetamol can also improve the length of time someone can exercise for in hot conditions.
The data suggests that this is achieved by reducing the body's temperature during exercise, which subsequently improves their tolerance to exercise in the heat.
The research gives a new insight into the effects of paracetamol on endurance exercise, and further studies hope to determine by which mechanisms this takes place.
"Whilst we have found that paracetamol improves the time someone can exercise in the heat, and that this occurs alongside a reduced body temperature, we did not measure the specific mechanisms by which this may have occurred," Dr Lex Mauger, who led the study at The University of Kent's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, said.
"It is important now to try and isolate how paracetamol reduced participants' body temperature during exercise," he said.
The study is published in the journal Experimental Physiology.
ANI
