Does combining paracetamol and ibuprofin increase the effect over one on its own?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16464962

As for the analgesic effect, ibuprofen is a NSAID, so its better used for muscle and bone injuries i.e. where there is inflammation while both ibuprofen and paracetemol are about as equally effective for garden variety headaches. The most common use of using them together is alternating them throughout the day to give constant coverage for fever reduction.

In cases of pain where it is moderate or higher, the two used in combination is indeed more effective than using either on its own.

There is additive synergism between the two compounds - ie they are not competing with each other for the same receptors, but not multipliclative synergism where the effect of the two is many times higher than the effect of the two individually.

Doctors do prescribe paracetamol and NSAIDs as a combination for moderate pain and it is more effective when people do take both agents. The fever suppressing effect is also more noticable too.

NSAIDs and paracetamol bind to slightly different receptors so work together