Typically the Euler-Lagrange equations are defined for the functional $$ J[u] = \int_a^b L(x,u,u') dx. $$ However, I was wondering if anyone knows if they can be solved when the expression involves the inverse of $u$? The way my problem is formulated, it is simplest to write as $$ J[u] = \int_{u^{-1}(a)}^{u^{-1}(b)} L(x,u,u') dx, $$ but it could equivalently be written $$ J[u] = \int_{u(a)}^{u(b)}L(x,u,u^{-1},u') dx $$ I had a bit of a play with it and I have a feeling it is not generally solvable, but I'm really just playing -- not an expert in this area. Cheers!