Free Response to The Use of Lasik Eye Surgery in Sports - Essay Example

 Professional athletes all over the world use many techniques to enhance their performance in professional sports and contests in order to get an edge over their competitors. These techniques range from invasive to non-invasive and can be as minor as taking a high protein diet to as serious as taking drugs or getting surgeries (Saletan). Generally, it is believed that such enhancement methods, those that do not fall into the category of natural, are unlawful and illegal as it relates to sports, and therefore, athletes should abstain from such tactics (Saletan). One of the most common approaches of the athletes towards this issue is the use of steroids before games (Saletan). Medicinally, steroids have proven to enhance the muscle mass of the user (Saletan), and to some extent, also stamina (Saletan). They are administered by clinicians in special cases to boost the body immune system in patients with diseases such as AIDS (Saletan), and to enhance muscle power in patients who suffer from wasting disorders (Saletan).

However, this use is strictly clinical; the use of steroids personally is not only unlawful in sports but also poses many health risks to the user (Saletan), such as overdose, medicinal mismatch, and other such problems. Therefore, such drug treatments should only be used under the supervision and recommendation of a physician (Saletan). The advantages of steroids do not make them legal for use in sports, as their use gives an added and unfair advantage to the user over the other players. Therefore, the player who is using them would be in a better position to perform superiorly to the other players (Saletan).

This is unfair. Another recent development in the techniques of performance enhancement methods is the use of surgeries to make the athlete better suited for the sports (Saletan). One of such surgeries is the Lasik eye surgery which is used to enhance vision even greater than the normal 20/20 vision (Saletan) that is considered perfect by the physicians.