Anabolic Steroids and Pressure to Perform in Sports - Essay Example

Anabolic Steroids and Pressure to Perform in Sports A career in sports will mean lots of choices and compromises. Athletes may have to sacrificetheir social and family life and spend lots of money to build their career. They may also suffer from pain related to the physical work involved in sports. But of all these, the most important aspect which an athlete needs to put up with is pressure to perform. Pressure is the essence of sports, especially competitive sports wherein certain pivotal movements by the sportsmen determine who wins and who loses. And those who can rise to the occasion are great athletes. While some athletes like Michael Johnson, a sprinter who won a couple of gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, love pressure and enjoy it, others like Martina Novratilova, a Wimbledon champion find it difficult to handle pressure (The Creative Athelete, n.d.). Pressure arises because of the desire to win, to meet the expectations of the spectators and sponsors and also to remain in sports. It is because of the pressure to perform that some sportsmen resort to other methods of building their strength and endurance, mainly drugs. The most commonly used drugs in sports are erthropoietin and anabolic steroids. Drug associations all over the world have banned these drugs and intake of these drugs in any form amounts to cheating. These drugs can be detected easily by various modern tests. This article gives a crisp purview about anabolic steroids. Young athletes who aspire to become great heroes must know about the disadvantages of these drugs so that they dont take the easier route to success. Anabolic steroids are a class of synthetic steroid hormones that are related to testosterone. When administered into the body, they cause many physiological effects which are mainly anabolic in nature. The effects include increased synthesis of protein and increased appetite. Increased protein synthesis results in increased muscle mass and strength and increased bone growth. Anabolic steroids also have virilising androgenic properties and thus can cause increase in masculine features like growth of vocal cords and body hair. It is for these reasons that these drugs are popularly known as anabolic-androgenic steroids or AAS. Due to the muscle building properties of these drugs, there is a tendency for sportsmen and body builders to take them. Worldwide, most of the sports bodies have banned the usage of these drugs and intake of these hormones is considered illegal and called doping. Medically, anabolic steroids have an important role in the treatment of osteoporosis, anemias associated with renal failure, sickle cell anemia, aplastic anemia and bone marrow dysfunction; dysfunction of the gonads, stimulation of growth in short stature associated with Turner syndrome, gynecological disorders, angioedema and chronic wasting disorders like cancer and AIDS. The commonly used anabolic steroids are oxandrolone, oxymetholone, stanozolol, nandrolone decanoate and nandrolone phenpropionate. These drugs can be administered orally, transdermally and by injection. There are various patterns of usage of anabolic steroids. The common techniques used as a part of anabolic steroid cycles are cycling, stacking and pyramiding. In cycling, multiple doses of the drug is given over a period of time and then stopped for sometime only to resume later. This routine is continued. In stacking, 2 or more drugs are given cyclically. In pyramiding, the drug is started at the lowest dose possible and then escalated with time either by increasing the number and frequency of a single drug or with multiple drugs and after the pinnacle is reached, the dosage is then gradually reduced to zero. Pyramiding typically occurs over 6 to 12 weeks (Anabolic Steroids Guide, n.d.). How do anabolic steroids act? Once administered into the body, anabolic steroids travel into the muscle tissue and reach the androgen receptors which deliver the hormone molecules into the cell. After entering the muscle cells, the steroids interact with the DNA and trigger the synthesis of protein which further promotes cell growth. Depending upon the amount and type of hormones introduced, the physique of the person either becomes bulky or toned. The steroids also help overcome the sores which occur in overused muscles. Sore muscles result from increased production of cortisol during intense exercise. Cortisol causes breakdown of muscle tissues resulting in sores. Androgenic steroids prevent sores by blocking cortisol from binding to its receptor sites in the muscle cell (Peterson, 2009). Anabolic steroids have many known side effects. The immediate side effects may be subtle and go unrecognised. Detrimental effects of the steroids are caused by improper usage of the drugs due to inadequate knowledge and ignorance. The side effects can be quite serious and irreversible (Calfee and Fadale, 2006). Long term intake of anabolic steroids can result in increase in low-density lipoproteins or bad cholesterol, thus increasing the risk of cardiovascular ailment. These drugs cause increase in the production of dihydrotestosterone which accelerates baldness and also increases the risk of prostate cancer. The drugs also increase the risk of liver tumors and hepatic cysts, both of which are dangerous enough to rupture and cause internal bleeding. In men, shrinking of testicles can occur. Other adverse effects in men include decreased sperm count, infertility and gynecomastia. In women, features of masculinization can occur. Long term administration of anabolic steroids in women can cause growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in the menstrual cycle, deepened voice resembling that of men and enlargement of clitoris. Adolescents taking these drugs for a long time can land up in premature skeletal maturation leading to stunted growth. Adolescent girls and boys can suffer from accelerated puberty changes. Unsterile use of injections amongst abusers can increase the risk of HIV and Hepatitis B infections (NIDA, 2008). Anabolic steroids have effects in brain too. They bind to androgen and estrogen receptors in the brain and shuttle into the cell nucleus to influence patterns of gene expression (Kicman and Gower, 2003). Unlike other illicit drugs, these drugs do not cause any euphorigenic side effects. But in the long term, some impact can be seen in the brain pathways and chemicals. Thus, anabolic steroids can contribute to psychiatric dysfunction which can manifest as extreme irritability, delusions, paranoid jealousy, impaired judgement and delusions (Kicman and Gower, 2003). Another major adverse effect of anabolic steroids is addictive tendency. Those who abuse these drugs spend lots of money and time to procure these drugs. Withdrawal symptoms can occur once these drugs have been stopped. Withdrawal symptoms include fatigue, mood swings, restlessness, reduced sexual drive, steroid cravings and insomnia. The most dangerous withdrawal symptom is depression and can lead to suicide attempts (NIDA, 2008). Research has shown that some users of anabolic steroids might resort to abuse of other drugs too. The sad part about androgenic steroid abuse is there is not much research on how to treat the abuse. Supportive therapy with education can help in many cases. Rarely, the abusers may need hospitalization (NIDA, 2008). Abuse of anabolic steroids by sportsmen dates back to ancient Greece, when professional athletes used the drug for increased performance. In the early 1930s German scientists discovered the drug in the current pharmaceutical form. The first anabolic steroid which was approved scientifically was methandrostenolone in 1958 in US. Many countries have taken stringent measures to prevent abuse of the drug. According to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, any attempt to possess or use anabolic steroids without proper prescriptions amounts to federal crime and can initiate legal actions. For sales through internet, there must be a bonafide doctor-patient relationship for the transaction of sale to take place (NIDA, 2008). Unnecessary use of these drugs causes more harm than good in the long run. The anabolic steroids which are commonly banned by the sports authorities are androstenedione, boldenone, testosterone, dromostanolone, dihydrotestosterone and methenolone. Research has shown that more and more youngsters are abusing anabolic steroids. Footballers and others use these drugs for improved performance on field and body builders use them for increased muscle build and decreased fat in the body so that there physique looks well-toned (Hartgens and Kuipers, 2004). Considering these enormous benefits and no immediate life-threatening side effects, one needs to watch how far it is possible for the authorities to check the usage of these drugs. Athletes who think that these magic drugs can take them to heights in their career are actually wrong. There is enough evidence from several baseball players who have taken steroids that these medicines do not always work and infact, many a times there is nothing but a financial drain out of taking these drugs. Infact, these drugs can lead to worse consequences like being banned from sports or going to jail or paying heavy penalty. Recent reports about famous cricket star Shoiab Akthar proves this. Sportsmen who think that anabolic steroids can make some magic must know that it is not only illegal to consume these drugs, but also dangerous and costly. Above all, even if the athlete wins, he may not be able to admit victory. The cheated winner may feel guilty like in case of Nina Karft, who won the Ironman triathlon in 2004 after taking endurance enhancing drugs (The Creative Athelete, n.d.). References Anabolic Steroids Guide (n.d.). Anabolic Steroids. Retrieved March 27th, 2009 from http://www.anabolicsteroidsguide.com/index.html Calfee, R., and Fadale, P. (2006). Popular ergogenic drugs and supplements in young athletes. Pediatrics, 117 (3), e577–89. Hartgens, F., and Kuipers, H. (2004). Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids in athletes. Sports Med., 34 (8): 513–54. Kicman, A.T., and Gower, D.B. (2003). Anabolic steroids in sport: biochemical, clinical and analytical perspectives. Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, 40, (Pt 4), 321–56. NIDA. (2008). NIDA InfoFacts: Steroids (Anabolic-Androgenic). Retrieved March 27th, 2009 from http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/steroids.html Peterson, D. (2009). The mechanics Of Steroids. Retrieved March 27th, 2009 from http://blog.80percentmental.com/2009/02/mechanics-of-steroids.html The Creative Athelete (n.d.). Issue 13--Commitment and Handling Pressure in Sports. Retrieved March 27th, 2009 from http://www.onlinesports.com/sportstrust/creative13.html Read More