The Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs on Athletes

Performance-Enhancing drugs are an unnatural way of changing one's body, and the effects can be life altering, sometimes better yet always, in the end, much worse. It is for this reason why major league sports have put strict rules in place suspending athletes who use these drugs; the Olympics ban these athletes for life. These drugs harm the bodies and minds of athletes, and they are banned to protect their health for their benefit and for the sports as well.

Performance-enhancing drugs (PED 's) have been an issue for many decades now for the medical and sports field. Olympic and professional athletes have been using them to gain an upper hand on the competition, but some may ask if it 's really worth it? Studies show that performance-enhancing drugs have been proven to negatively affect the health of athletes who take them. Simply put, performance-enhancing drugs could either improve athletic performance or can be extremely dangerous, in certain situations, deadly. There have been strict rules and drug testing in the professional sporting organizations, as well as in world competitions. For example, in the summer of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, in two of the

Anabolic steroids are taken by tablet, injection, and also by pads on the skin. Even with the possible benefits that steroids could possibly have there are many many more dangers. Some of these include deep depression, aggression, and bad nervousness. Some physical dangers include high blood pressure, liver disorders, and even going bald. The athlete that makes the poor decision to use steroids, also faces the danger of getting caught and being suspended or even banned from the professional sport of which they

Athletes use performance enhancing drugs to boost their game. The professionals who use these drugs are ruining the integrity of the game. Many people don’t understand why professional athletes would go to such extreme measures to be better when they have already proven themselves. Athletes are just taking away from their natural ability by using these dangerous drugs. The risk of using performance enhancing drugs is a lot greater than the reward, because an athlete’s reputation could be tarnished and their career ruined. Money is one of the major reasons why players use them; if they perform at levels higher than what their natural abilities could do they will be offered a large sum of money.

The benefits of using some types of performance-enhancing drugs are obvious. Professional athletes have a very 'short shelf life' as competitors in most sports and must cash in on their talents as soon as possible. For Olympic athletes, the

From the beginning of history, professional and amateur athletes have tempted to use legal or illegal drugs to enhance their performance (1). Athletes have used pharmacological agents, called Performance-enhancing drugs(PEDs), to enhance performance or to become leaner or more muscular (2). In sports, administration of drugs that are forbidden by international world anti-doping agency (WADA) is referred as doping (3). Anabolic androgenic agents (AASs) are the most popular agents that are abused by the athletes, especially bodybuilding athletes. Besides these agents, other classes of drugs such as stimulants and peptide hormones (growth hormone and insulin) are new PEDs that are abused by a lot of athletes in the different sports (1). Other than these compounds, athletes often use dietary supplements like creatine, protein, and vitamins to enhance strength and increase body mass (4-6).

As the use of performance enhancing drugs is becoming more popular amongst athletes, many of them do not understand the risks involved in taking these drugs. Many people are looking for a quick way to build muscles, or to get stronger the fastest way possible. Using these performance aids may very well be a quick fix for many athletes, but taking the drugs is unethical and dangerous. Using special drugs to boost an athlete’s performance is degrading to sports and to the athlete, but after they stop using the drugs and lose some strength, you become

The market for top performing athletes in sports in the 21st century is a competitive one. Athletes are pushed to, be stronger, an heal from injuries faster. With the pressure to do well and get picked up by a professional team of sorts goes without saying that hard work is a must to elevate ones professional athletic career, but what if one has reached a plateau or hit a wall in a training regimen and just can not seem to push through? When some athletes hit the proverbial wall when training they turn to steroids. Ruth Wood in an article titled Anabolic Steroids: A Fatal Attraction? Writes, “Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are drugs of abuse. Despite bans on steroid use, Olympic

Performance enhancing drugs, or steroids, are defined as substances used to improve physical performance. There are many types of steroidal performance enhancers. The first of these performance enhancing drugs are anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are also known as androgen steroids, and they are used to increase the muscle mass and strength of a person. A natural anabolic steroid is testosterone, which your body naturally produces. Some athletes take straight testosterone which is another way to boost your athletic performance. This has the same effect as anabolic steroids, but it is natural and can be found within the body. Anabolic steroids are so effective and appealing to athletes, because they allow athletes to recover faster from a

Nonmedical anabolic steroids are banned by most major sports organizations, yet some athletes proceed to use them to enhance their sports game. It may help them now, but in the long run it it causes serious physical and psychological problems. Both teens and adults use steroids. It’s important for

When athletes begin to take these drugs they begin to hurt there bodies more and more every time they do steroids. Vance Golke, a athletic trainer at a local sports medicine facility, stated in an interview that, “athletes today don’t know what trouble they could be putting themselves in when they begin to take enhancements to better themselves. They (the athletes) don’t know what they could be doing to there internal organs and to their lives.” According to the National institute on drug abuse, steroids can have disastrous health effects “that are life threatening, such as heart attacks and liver cancer. Most are reversible if the abuser stops taking the drugs, but some are permanent, such as voice deepening in females. “These are just a few small consequences that can happen if athletes continue to take these types of drugs. Athletes don’t always know what they maybe getting into rule wise either when they begin doing these things. Most coaches don’t care enough to help their players get away with these illegal drugs in most cases. There are many different ways they can help them but, the best way most would agree on

Athletes partaking in performance enhancing drugs is another sport specific risk behaviour to achieve victory. Taking performance enhancing drugs gives an extra edge and is a short cut to good performance. It allows one to perform under any circumstances. In fact, stimulants are the most common types of drugs that are misused. Stimulants reduce tiredness and pain. Further, it increases endurance and explosive power due to the reduction of pain. The earliest reasons for the use of stimulants is because of the restricting barriers to pain. Nevertheless, this causes more injuries as they are pushing their bodies past what they are physically capable of. However, they are not aware of this because at the time the athlete is no responsive to pain.

Anabolic steroids are a complex molecule used to trick the mind into thinking that testosterone is being produced. An American doctor in the 1930s developed anabolic steroids for the use of “building body tissue and preventing the breakdown of tissue” (“Athletes and Steroids”). An FDA review later failed to find evidence that these anabolic steroids had positive effects for those purposes. As time went on people found that steroids increase muscle mass significantly, and they began to abuse that power. Many athletes began to join in, creating a dilemma not only for their health issues but for the game itself. Many athletes have broken records, won awards, and achieved goals they would not have achieved if they didn 't

Most serious athletes will tell you that the competitive drive to win can be fierce. Besides the satisfaction of pers onal accomplishment, athletes often pursue dreams of winning a medal for their country or securing a spot on a professional team. In such an environment, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has become increasingly. Anabolic steroids is the familiar name for synthetic substances related to the male sex hormones. They promote the growth of the muscles and the development of male characteristics in both males and females. Anabolic steroids is a quick way to gain strength and build up muscle in a quicker shorter time. Yes, anabolic steroids are very illegal if it isn’t prescribed to you from a doctor and if you are caught with

(Thank). Athletes at less competitive levels - including high schools and some college students use steroids so they can get competitive and get recruited. (Thank). People basically use steroids to build and strengthen muscle and reduce body fat (Thank). Other PED, Performance Enhancing Drugs, are Human growth hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, Erythropoietin, stimulants, and Testosterone (Thank). Anabolic steroids are a chemical derivative of testosterone, the “male sex hormone.” (Sammy). Dianabol Is the first popular brand of steroids they come as a tiny pink pill. (Artha, 23). Today, bodybuilders choose from three anabolic steroids which are pills, gel/cream that goes on the user 's skin, and injections that go in the muscle (Artha, 23). Some abusers dose up to ten to one hundred times higher than prescribed medical conditions. (Drug). Steroids are taken orally or injected in the muscles, but some are applied to the skin as a cream or gel as seen above. (Drug). Steroids are reinforcing and can lead to addiction. (Drug). Steroids are banned in the NFL, NCAA, Olympics, MLB, and other minor and major leagues. (Sammy).