Long periods of taking Ibuprofen is thought to eat away at the gut lining and may well be the cause of Coeliacs in some people (worth Googling). Mine didn't show up until finishing 18 months of prescribed Ibuprofen (3 x 400mg daily) Worth avoiding the stuff.
Yes, it's a difficult one. Pain it's self is not good for the body, but NSAID's do indeed have their problems.
Current thinking is that over 2400mg a day makes it as cardiotoxic as diclofenac, which is not a good thing. The GI stuff isn't that evidenced based yet, but I'm sure it will be.
PhD anyone ?