BACKGROUND: Although the high prevalence of analgesic use in various sports disciplines is well-known, it has not been reported among Olympic-style weightlifters yet. We aimed to determine the frequency of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol use in elite-level Olympic-style weightlifters, the weightlifters` attitudes towards NSAIDs and paracetamol use, and the total daily, weekly and monthly doses of NSAIDs and paracetamol. METHODS: A total of 166 (46 female, 120 male) Olympic-style weightlifters enrolled for this study. Data was collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire distributed during national championships. The Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society-NSAID equivalent score, total doses of acetylsalicylic acid and paracetamol were calculated daily, weekly, and monthly. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 18.9±4.7 years. Only 11.4% of athletes stated that they used the drug only when the physician prescribed it. More than half of the athletes (57.2%) stated that they used at least one of the analgesics the day before the competition day. The most common form reported by the athletes was the concomitant use of medications (31.3%). The mean total acetylsalicylic acid, NSAID and paracetamol doses of 95 athletes using analgesics were daily: 500.0±95.0 mg/105.0±71.4 mg/555.6±160.1 mg, weekly: 1166.0±899.4 mg/145.2±176.6 mg/1166.7±892.8 mg, and monthly: 3461.1±4940.7 mg/201.5±274.0 mg/2750.0±3841.9 mg, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of analgesic and anti-inflammatory medication use among the elite-level Olympic-style weightlifters is very high.
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