Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport - Term Paper Example

Performance enhancing drugs in sport Following the ongoing incentives, global fame, wining emphasis, and the power that comes along wit professional athletics, athletes are finding it worth amplifying the means by which they can secure a win over their competitors. Populous sport press is alleging rampant use of performance enhancing drugs by a large number of star performers in this game. Observations show that the use of these performance enhancing agents by many athletes is understandable mainly du e to the need to improve their performance beyond the normal athletic or physiological levels (Carpenter, 2007). Some of the elements that lure athletes into consumption of these drugs are fellow athletes, business managers, coaches, rewards that come along with superior performance, trainers, and unfortunately physicians who treat the competitor (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). This discussion will seek to review the history and concept of ergogenic aides, societal penetration, detection, regulations facing the agents, risk or benefit information, societal sources of drugs, and finally give an insight into the future. The history of Ergogenic aides Ergogenic aides are substances or methods that athletes employ in order to enhance or boost their performance beyond the normal physiological levels. Intense research findings enlighten that some are legal while other are illegal and practically banned by many competition-governing agencies. The ban is because of the considerable hazards that they carry. These aids are of five classifications: nutritional, psychological, physical, physiological, and pharmacological or chemical. However, this discussion is focusing on pharmacological or chemical aids (Carpenter, 2007). The history of aids premiered in the days of wining through doping. Since the start of the recorded history, the use of numerous chemical and physical steroids in performance enhancement led to will or need by athletes to use them. As such, most athletes sought to use portions and foods with the view of transforming their bodies into tuned machines. For example to build powerful and muscled bodies, Greek wrestlers consumed huge quantities of sesame seeds and meat. With reference to Norwegian mythology, legendary Berserkers used hallucinogenic mushrooms rich in bufotenin (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). Entry of anabolic steroids The first synthesized anabolic steroid was testosterone in 1930s and jetted into the sporting arena between 1940s and 1950s (Bizzarini & Angelis, 2004). Documented evidence shows that, it was due to the synthetic androgens that the Russian weight lifting team left the 1952 Olympics with a pile of medals. As a result, one particular US physician thought he should do the same in favor of the American team. By the end of 1958, the US pharmaceutical firm had already developed the first anabolic steroid in USA. However, despite noticing that the medicine was unwanted side effects, it was already late to stop its spread into the sporting arena. Reports reveal that bodybuilders and weightlifters were the first consumers of anabolic steroids in the 1950s (Carpenter, 2007). Since then, consumption of anabolic steroids permeated in different myriads of sporting world with efforts to halt the spread meeting very little. In 1976, when sportsmen and women who competed in diverse sporting actions such as vaulting, sprinting, jumping, throwing, and long distance running tested positive, anabolic steroids became a matter of federal investigation. Scores show that the Congress passed an act (Anti Drug Abuse Act) in 1988 that opined that possession and/or consumption of anabolic steroids for reasons other than medical a federal offense (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). Additionally, distribution or availability of these drugs among youths carried a prison sentence. As time went by, the Congress toughened the laws in 1990 by passing a legislation that classified anabolic steroids a controlled product or substance among the public (Carpenter, 2007). To make the matters more serious, the Olympic governing body denied the Canadian track superstar Ben Johnson his medal during the 1988 Olympics upon testing positive of anabolic steroids commonly referred to as stanozolol. Ergogenics and adolescents Today, it is obvious that even college students are using performance-enhancing drugs. Surprisingly, consumption of these drugs are resulting to both psychological and physiologic consequences not seen or felt as posing serious problems to the older peers still consuming them. Given the fact that performance enhancing drug use does not confine to professional athletes only, even teenagers and pre adolescents are using them due to either their availability or the need to increase weight. Teenagers might b e willing to add on some few muscles, a fifteen year old rushing to maturity, and/or others eyeing professional athletics while in college (Carpenter, 2007). These activities that involved anabolic steroid consumption by teenagers prompted a number of scientific meetings. These meetings sought to reclassify anabolic steroids, with reference to its effects, as controlled substances in spite of the initial nonoccurrence by the American Medical Association that was seeking for regulatory actions about circulation of anabolic steroids. Currently, the use of anabolic steroids is rampant with all men’s sports topping the list of the most users. Sources reveal that many women taking part in different sporting activities use anabolic steroids while football has the most admitted steroids users among all games (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). In collegiate sporting activities, most athletes admitted using anabolic steroids with female athletes quoting their use for trying to improve the image of their female body. Adolescents’ use of anabolic steroids does not end in sports as research findings reveal that even 12to 21 year olds use rostenedione, ephedrine, and over the counter drugs among many other controlled drugs. In nonathletic activities, the use of performance enhancing drugs is also on the rise since teenagers want to keep their bodies fit and strong even when outside sports (Carpenter, 2007). Thus, presence and availability of performance enhancing drugs is evident in preteens, adolescents, and collegiate. Anabolic steroids and addiction Evidence proves that use of anabolic steroids leads to addiction after a particular period. Users begin to exhibit different unusual signs such as withdrawal symptoms, inability to cease using the drugs, and cravings. This happens mainly because anabolic steroids lead to changed mental functions and affect the brain. Users of anabolic steroids believe in the notion that continued or long-term use of these drugs lead to specific gains (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). Often and very dramatically, when anabolic steroid users discontinue their consumption routine their strength and energy diminish vastly. Among the factors that foster continued use of anabolic steroids among users are improved self-esteem, general euphoria, heightened libido, and need to create new body image (Carpenter, 2007). Users feel motivated to keep themselves at the top of the game given the professional support and incentives that come along with super star performance. Research results highlight that 25 percent of adolescent anabolic steroid users report cases of addiction by exhibiting dependence effects, over reliance on perceptions, and psychological defects. In school, users portray different perceptions and behaviors towards education, strength, and health. Majority of the anabolic steroid users in schools regard their strength as superior and unmatchable to that of average students (Bizzarini & Angelis, 2004). In addition, these anabolic users who are still in school tend to take anabolic steroids in large quantities regardless of the health related consequences that they may bring upon the user and even end up taking more than one anabolic at a time. The prime effect of anabolic steroids among adolescents is denial. Particularly, adolescents who take anabolic steroids tend to turn a blind eye on physical dangers posed by consumption of illegal substances (Carpenter, 2007). Effects also include delusions as most of the users become delusional after taking anabolic steroids for a while. Among athletes, use of performance enhancing drugs lead to normal body changes that may slip the eyes of the athletes hence resulting to an experience termed as reverse anorexia. By use of DSM-IV criteria, researchers established that all those who use performance-enhancing drugs mainly anabolic steroids suffer from uncontrollable dependency. A considerable percentage of anabolic abusers develop a particular degree of depression while in the process of withdrawing from anabolic steroid abuse. Different diagnoses highlight that fluid and weight loss could be the impeding cause of this eccentric depression. The most interesting yet shocking observation made by some researchers is that, males with Klinefelter’s syndrome but using testosterone enanthate had significant effects of body image and behavior. In this case, such males exhibited heightened sexual drive, enhanced assertiveness, transformation from a feminine to a masculine body shape, and increased goal directed characteristics. However, according to the researchers, the most interesting yet shocking observation was that most of these subjects expressed potential desire to continue using these drugs at larger quantities for long in order to gain more masculinity (Carpenter, 2007). Anabolic steroids and function The most commonly asked question is that; do anabolic steroids work or not? Ideally, this question is very hard to answer given the fact that there has been a series of studies especially the supraphysiologic dosing that examines the effects of anabolic steroids on performance (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). Due to these cross over, blinded, controlled studies, athletes continue to use some dosages of supraphysiologic despite opposition by the human oversight studies. According to studies carried in review of examining whether anabolic steroids work, research findings established that there is no major doubt that anabolic steroids have a major boost on women performance (Carpenter, 2007). Therefore, it is agreeable that if they work in female athletes they also function in male sportsmen as well as any other user of anabolic steroids. Hazards of anabolic steroids With reference to reviews set forth by endocrinologists, anabolic steroid use causes testis atrophy, gynecomastia, prostatic hypertrophy, baldness, oligospermia, and a number of other side effects. On the other side, the potential side effects of anabolic steroids to women include voice changes, hirsutism, breast atrophy, and amenorrhea infertility as well as clitoral hypertrophy. In both sexes, you may hear users complaining about edema, jaundice, acne, reduced HDL cholesterol, tremor, hypertension, and polycythemia. Intense researches reveal that other potential side effects may include hepatic adenomatosis, thrombosis, peliosis hepatitis, retarded growth among the young, and concentric cardiomyopathy. Fact-findings set out that anabolic steroid use lead to other health hazards such as roid rage or behavioral psychological behavior and tendon ruptures usually classified under biomechanical hazards as well as impairment of the induced exercise growth of the so-called cardiac capillary bed (Carpenter, 2007). Other drugs abused by athletes The past few years continued to witness broadened categories of drugs abused by different athletes in view of keeping a beautiful or rather attractive body or mainly for performance benefits (Carpenter, 2007). Due to these quests, the explosion of different steroids in this field expanded rapidly such that the athletic governing agencies have not had time to review or assess if they should ban, prepare necessary measures for testing competitive athletics. Referring to the athletics governing bodies such as the United States Olympic Committee, International Olympic Committee, and the National College Athletic Association, other drugs abused by athletes comprise of human growth hormone, central nervous system, neurotransmitters, cocaine, clomiphene citrate, and tamoxifen, as well as insulin. Apart from these, there are others that athletes mask themselves with and later drug detection systems (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). The future of the ergogenic agents Sometimes it becomes impossible to interview or tell whether an athlete uses certain steroids ideally due to the observation that most users have pragmatic and in depth knowledge of properties contained in these drugs. In 2004, certain scientists introduced “designer” steroids capable of evading detection hence conceivable and consumable by athletes without federal knowledge. As such, the responsible bodies formed WADA whose aim was to develop specter methods of detecting use of illicit drugs in athletics in the future (Karina, Horvath, & Sepal, 2004). As of now, concerted efforts are bringing modulators of muscle metabolism into focus. Furthermore, the current measures are of high quality and sophistication (Carpenter, 2007). They include the most dependable one called the GW501516, which is an activated peroxisome proliferator’s receptor delta (PPARδ) In conclusion, due to side effects that athletes encounter upon abusing performance-enhancing drugs, physicians should help bring these people into light to avoid future growth of steroids abuse. Physicians are a key factor in this mixture because they have opportunities to witness athletes who use steroids. The concerned institutions should set in place intense campaigns against performance enhancing drugs through leadership, education, and counseling (Bizzarini & Angelis, 2004). In all arenas of sporting action, pioneers should emphasize on physical and mental awareness as well as maintenance of the appropriate knowledge regarding importance of moral practices. References Bizzarini, E. & Angelis, L. (2004). Is the use of oral creatine supplementation safe? Retrieved on June 17, 2012 from Journal of Sports Med Phys Fitness Vol. (4) 44, 411–6. Carpenter, P. (2007). Performance enhancing drugs in sport. Retrieved on June 17, 2012 from Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America Vol. (36) 481-495. Karila, T, Hovatta, O. & Seppala, T. (2004). Concomitant abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids and human chorionic gonadotrophin impairs spermatogenesis in power athletes. International Journal of Sports Med Vol. (4) 25, 257–63. Read More