Does coffee reduce your pain? – Pain News Network

"The diet can actually be a helpful intervention to decrease sensitivity to pain," said lead author Burel Goodin, PhD, associate professor of psychology at UAB. "It's not just caffeine. One study has shown, for example, that an herbal diet can actually help increase tolerance to pain.

Researchers say that caffeine reduces pain by blocking brain receptors called adenosines, which increases the effect of dopaminergic chemicals associated with pain relief.

Caffeine has been added to over-the-counter pain relievers like Excedrin for years and has proven to increase their effectiveness by up to 40%. South Korean researchers have also added caffeine to opioids of patients with advanced cancer and found that it decreased their pain and improved their alertness.

Other research has corroborated the effectiveness of caffeine alone as an analgesic. A study from the University of Georgia found that two cups of coffee can reduce pain after training by almost half. And a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh revealed that a single 200-mg tablet of caffeine was effective at treating muscle pain.

Excessive consumption of caffeine can have serious side effects, but the Mayo Clinic claims that 400 mg daily are safe doses (about 4 cups of coffee). Some cups could be a useful supplement to your pain treatment.