A cream containing the drug ketoprofen was effective for the relief of muscle soreness following exercise.
Sometimes vigorous exercise produces painful inflammation in the muscles. The usual treatment is oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but these have side effects such as kidney damage and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have shown that the NSAID ketoprofen administered as a cream to the affected area is a safe and effective alternative to oral drugs. A group of healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 35 years was tested, taking either the ketoprofen cream or a placebo. Further tests are now needed to see if the cream is effective in the long term. It would also be interesting to test it in chronic inflammatory conditions like arthritis.