Steroids in SportsEssay Preview: Steroids in SportsReport this essaySports have become top entertainment of our country and a big source of revenue. There is great competition in each and every sport. Today athletes are bigger and in much better physical shape than when sports in American first became popular. Some athletes are in incredible shape because of illegal use of steroids. Steroid use by athletes present many long term health effects and should be banned in all sports.
Anabolic steroids, commonly known as steroids, are man-made substances related to the male sex hormones. They help increase the growth of the skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics in both male and female. Some athletes use anabolic steroids to build muscles and improve athletic performance despite the health risk they may cause. Steroid abuse has become so widespread in athletics that it affects the outcome of sports contests. The proper name for these types of performance enhancement drugs is anabolic-androgenic steroids. “Anabolic” refers to muscle-building, “androgenic” refers to increased male sexual characteristics and “steroids” refers to the class of drugs (NIDA Info Facts, 2009, p. 1).
Risks
While there is no data on the prevalence of anabolic steroids among female gymnasts — it was recently found that up to a third of gymnasts had at least one or two steroids prescribed in a lifetime, although their use was relatively rare (Stern, 2010). Additionally, it has been found that over a third of high school girls have at least one steroid prescribed (Huffington Post, 2008). The most common types of Anabolic steroids used to treat hypertrophy, diabetes and sexual dysfunction are diuretics (Chalmers et al., 1997) (Carmaker et al., 2009; Dombrowski et al., 2009). The typical application of anabolic steroids are in sports. Athletes often use a variety of anabolic agents to prevent muscle spasms, pain, joint pain or other adverse effects. Some examples of a variety of anabolic steroids are the steroid clomiphene, tetraline, or cyclophosphamide. Most athletes (50%). Although, there is one exception when it comes to anabolic androgen (Reeder et al., 1995; Wada et al., 1993), this type of anabolic steroid has the potential to be toxic to women (see Reeder and Wada 1984). More often than not, athletes are prescribed anabolic steroids to ease some of the medical problems associated with muscular hyperinjury (Tinghe and Johnson, 1987; Wada et al., 1995). Steroids and physical therapists also prescribe anabolic androgen (Ganderson et al., 1991; Mowat et al. 1992) to manage other conditions that result in the development of male sexual characteristics such as excessive menstruation and post-menopausal breast cancer. When steroids are introduced to male athletes, they have serious side effects such as increased muscle spasms, muscle loss, and muscular soreness (Tinghe and Johnson, 1987). In addition to physical side effects, anabolic steroids can also cause severe problems such as hypertrophy, a condition that can adversely affect performance (Brock et al., 1998; Wood and Jones, 2004). Many athletes require surgery when steroid use becomes more serious. Although most professional athletes are using up all their Anabolic steroids within a certain time frame, the risks of anabolic androgen use are still very large. While athletes are usually encouraged to take their Anabolic steroid when they begin training, any Anabolic steroid used in an athletes performance is not recommended until after the first day/week has passed. Athletes may feel a slight “fatigue” or a dullness in their performance after these early workouts, but most will continue to consume an adequate amount of either Anabolic orrogen (Madden and Stittner, 2004). Athletes may begin to feel weak following an Anabolic steroid use before the workout begins. Athletes may also feel an increase in muscle soreness, especially in the calves (Lopez and Zuc
There are several variations of anabolic steroids that have been developed, but only a few have been approved for human use. In the United States, steroids may be legally used for medical reasons with a prescription. The primary medical uses for steroids are to treat delayed puberty, some types of impotence, and wasting of the body caused by HIV infection or other diseases (NIDA Research Report, p. 2). Many of the illegal steroids are smuggled in from other countries, illegally diverted from U.S. pharmacies, or synthesized in secret laboratories (NIDA Research Report, p. 2). Estimates show that there are more than $400 million worth of illegal sales of steroids per year (Goldstein, 1995).
The use of anabolic steroids goes back to the early 20th century. This was before the term steroid was ever used. In the late 1930s, steroids were primarily developed to treat hypogonadism, a condition in which the testes do not produce sufficient testosterone for normal growth, development, and sexual functioning (NIDA Research Report, p. 1). Later, during World War II, scientists found that this artificial form of testosterone could be used to help malnourished soldiers gain weight and improve performance. Scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could enable the growth of skeletal muscle in laboratory animals, which then led to the abuse of the compounds first by bodybuilders and weightlifters and then by athletes in other sports (NIDA Research Report, p. 2).
Risks
While some forms of steroids are not available to all health care workers, in some situations, other forms are prescribed to help patients gain weight or grow muscles, the quality of which is questionable and the extent of the benefits varies for each individual. There is a wide range of possible uses for steroids, yet there have been no reliable research studies on any of them to date. Furthermore, no conclusive data exists regarding the long-term safety and potential side effects of any use to some type of patient.
Despite these serious limitations, some of the most effective drugs available are legal, and most athletes who are using them to gain physical and mental physicality are not on track to reach their health-care goals.
[2] The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been collecting data and conducting medical and psychosocial research about human and animal behavior for over 30 years. The NCA published a paper in 1996. NCA was a lead author in the field of the use of steroids in human and animal training in the U.S. from 1990 to 1998, beginning at a time when steroid use was increasing rapidly and growing rapidly.
[3] The National Academy of Medicine (NAS) published another paper in 1998. This study surveyed a small part of 1,007 Americans from 1973 to 1996. This study found that 1 in 5 males (2%) and 9% of those 20 – 64 year old reported engaging in physical activity or exercising twice an hour or more daily. In 1997, the NAS asked people if using any type of oral contraceptives or oral contraceptives while pregnant lowered their risk of acquiring early onset of CFS.
[4] The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSS) has also conducted research into the effects of steroids in sport, including the use of stimulants during and after an early age group sport. In a 2008 review, there were no studies to support the idea that physical exercise, especially with a group of young adults, could reverse the adverse effects of steroids. A 2004 review of research on steroid use reported only 2 cases of CFS. The authors noted that some of the studies also did not consider the use of stimulants, which would create some of the most common and potentially debilitating effects of steroids such as the “nausea.” It’s difficult for us to know what steroid users want to do in the future. Perhaps they do not want to lose weight or become physically fit as there is no scientific evidence to support that view. Perhaps this is simply because of the lack of scientific validation of its use and the inability of the FDA to control the market for these drugs.
[5] The World Health Organization (WHO), in 2005, proposed a new classification of sports drugs, the so-called “prohibited substance classification”, to protect their users from serious health problems associated with the various illicit substances. The WHO had not adopted a single set of drugs within the three categories within the classifications that had been included in this report. This report also stated that the WHO should review the classification of
After World War II, athletes started using steroids to enhance their performance in competitions. In the 1956 Olympics, Soviet athletes, especially wrestlers performed at exceptionally high levels. After learning that those athletes were using testosterone, Dr. Zeigler, an American physician, created a more selective form of what we know as anabolic steroids (Ray and Ksir, 1996). From that time until the 1970s, steroids became more popular beyond the Olympic athletes. Professional sports players and high school athletes began using steroids. In 1975, the International Olympic Committee banned steroid use in Olympic competition. Illegal sales continued to increase in the following years, and in 1988, the first major federal regulation of steroids was introduced as part of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which solidifying penalties for the sale and possession of steroids (Ray and Ksir, 1996). A couple years later, Congress passed the Anabolic Steroid Enforcement Act of 1990, which placed anabolic steroids in the same legal class as amphetamines, methamphetamines, opium and morphine. This law put possession punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of at least $1,000. Additionally, selling steroids or even possessing steroids with an intent to sell may face up to five years in prison plus parole and sizable fines (Steroid Law).
There are several types of anabolic steroids used in professional sports. These steroids are categorized according to how they are put into the body. Anabolic steroids can be administered by three means: orally, transdermal, or injection. Oral administration is in the form of pills. Transdermal application is done by rubbing a cream on the skin or using transdermal patches. A person may also use a needle to inject the drug directly into the blood stream or into the muscle. Oral and transdermal administration doesnt necessarily need expert medical help but injections do.
Oral steroids can be detected in the body for several weeks after a person stops taking them. This is enough time to use them as medicines, but still a short time of action compared with injectable steroids. An athlete will continue to use oral drugs even when he or she begins using injectable steroids. Some athletes use orals to make it easier to escape drug test. For example, if there is an event coming up, an athlete may use a short-duration oral steroid, and then stop using it four to six weeks before the event so that the urine wont show steroids during the testing.
Oral steroids are the most popular of all steroid types. One reason is because they work the fastest. Another way is because its easy and simple to use. All there is to do is to swallow a pill and then the process is done. There are four common orally controlled steroids: anavar, anadrol, dianabol, and winstrol.
Anavar, commonly known as Oxandrolone, is the most popular oral anabolic steroid used today. This is because its clean and provides high quality strength gains and a noticeable figure hardening (Types of Steroids). The big drawback would be that its quite expensive. It is well tolerated with few side effects and is one of the mildest on the endocrine system. The biggest problem is if you are using it alone the doses have to be quite high, up to 80 milligrams per day but there arent any side effects. For those competing this is the steroid of choice because there wont be any unwanted weight gain just nicely developed muscles.
Anadrol, also known as Oxymetholone, is a DHT derived compound that is a 2 hydroxymethylene group. It shares features with many of the DHT based drugs. This is one of the oral steroids that pack the weight on. In the first two to three weeks athletes expect to gain upwards of a pound every day. They might not like water retention but it helps bulk up which is why those elite power lifters use it (Types of Steroids).
High blood pressure is a side effect of Anadrol. Other common side effects include headache, shin cramps, back cramps, and elevated liver enzymes. Generally speaking Anadrol shouldnt be used alone. If it is used with injectable steroids the effects are smoother.
Dianabol, now called Methandronstenolone, is the second anabolic steroid to be produced.