Today I learned how pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen work. When you injure a part of your body, your cells produce and release a chemical called prostaglandin which signals to your nerve cells that you have just created some damage to yourself. This tells your brain to take action so you don't continue down the path of more damage. When you take a pain medication, this prevents your cells from producing prostaglandin and therefore your brain does not get the signal that there is damage. Pain is good when you are doing something to harm your body and it wants you to stop so taking a bunch of pain killers without really taking steps to heal yourself is kind of a waste. Do your body good and take care of it like the temple it is!