Speeding recovery times has a tradeoff though. It may be negligible but I heard on an exercise science podcast of some kind that it blunts the recovery process so if maximizing muscle growth is your goal, don’t overdo nsaids.

However, like you said, if you’re an NFL athlete during the season then recovery is the priority over muscle growth and then ice baths and nsaids and inflammation reducing things are worth the trade off.

My mistake on Tylenol being an nsaid. Obvious hindsight. Brain fart.

Yes. Studies show that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil and Tylenol can actually supress gains in the gym if taken in excess because the natural muscle breakdown, inflammation, and response mechanism is blunted. Same is true for ice baths. So, sometimes swelling and inflammation can be a good thing that we want to occur.

Also staying on prednisone and other steroids too long to supress inflammation leads to all kinds of issues.