CARING FOR ATHLETES
ANABOLIC-STEROIDS: THE CHOICE OF A NEW GENERATION
Robert E. DuVall, MMSc, RPT
The use of anabolic steroids is one of the most controversial issues in sports today. Used primarily by bodybuilders and powerlifters, who believe the steroids will increase skeletal muscle mass and improve strength, anabolic steroids have become increasingly popular. What are steroids and why are they so popular? The steroids sought after by bodybuilders and weightlifters are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, a natural male hormone. Testosterone performs two different functions in the body: (1) Its androgenic activity is responsible for the growth, development, and maintenance of reproductive tissue and masculinization; (2) Its anabolic role is to stimulate protein synthesis and generalized growth of body tissue. The results produced by the anabolic function are sought after by athletes. However, because no synthetic steroid produces exclusively anabolic effects, the athlete also experiences an undesirable increased androgenic activity.
The popularity of synthetic steroid use among athletes arises partly from the widespread belief that “everybody else uses steroids, so to remain competitive I too must resort to this tactic.” Also at fault is the judging of bodybuilders. Abnormal muscular size is becoming the focus of bodybuilding competitions. Another culprit in the promotion of steroid use is the bodybuilding publication industry. Recently the growth hormone hGH was given a plug in a popular bodybuilding magazine with the publishing of an article by Dr. Robert F. Kerr, a California physician who wrote, “…( hGH produces ) greatly enhanced gains, beyond what you would expect to achieve using anabolic steroids…I have seen increases of as much as 40 pounds in a six week period, but with a reduction of body fat at the same time.”
This statement was published long before any athlete even knew what a steroid was. AIDS (Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome) has also been associated with steroid use. The disease is transmitted by athletes sharing hypodermic needles when injecting steroids.
Along with these life-threatening contraindications other undesirable results are reported in approximately 30 percent of athletes taking steroids. In male athletes the natural production of testosterone is decreased, resulting in testicular atrophy, decreased libido, impotence, decreased sperm production, and breast enlargement (gynecosmastic). Female athletes experience facial hair growth, male-pattern baldness, deepening of the voice, shrinkage of breast size, and irregularity in the menstrual cycle. Both men and women athletes using steroids have reported personality changes, such aggression and irritability.
In addition to the health risks involved in steroid use, the athlete using, purchasing, or selling steroids faces legal charges. One steroid distributor was recently sentenced to four and one-half years for smuggling steroids into the U.S. from Mexico. Even with the legal implications, athletes continue to find suppliers. In a recent survey conducted by Dr. William N. Taylor for Powerlifting U.S.A., Florida powerlifting athletes revealed their steroid sources:
Club Owners 38%
Fellow Athletes 20%
Licensed MD’s 15%
Drug Company Representatives 7%
Pharmacists 6%
Nurses 5%
Direct Drug Company Orders 2%
Health Food Stores 1%
Athletes caught using steroids not only face court sentencing, but also risk being banned from competition for life. Drug testing in athletes is becoming more sophisticated every day. Injectable steroids administered even 6 months before testing can now be detected. Oral steroids are detectable when taken up to 10 weeks before testing. In effect, an athlete using steroids today can no longer get away with it within the time period the drugs will be of any benefit.
Will anabolic steroids remain the popular choice of tomorrow’s athletes as the only means of staying “competitive”? Not according to many fitness experts who agree with Dr. Frederick C. Hatfield, Editor-in-Chief, Sports Fitness magazine: “I believe we now have the capability of fostering a whole new generation of young athletes who wills turn their backs on anabolic steroids as a primitive tool.
With statements such as this abounding in sports literature, athletes need to be informed of the latest clinical results and developments in steroid research so they can make informed decisions concerning steroid use. A critical evaluation of existing research suggests anabolic steroids will consistently result in strength increases only if the following criteria are satisfied:
They are given to athletes who have trained intensively in weightlifting prior to receiving steroids and who continue this intensive weight training during the steroid regimen.
Athletes maintain a high protein diet.
Changes in the athlete’s strength are measured by a single repetition maximal technique for these exercises with which the athlete trains.
It may be that any increases in strength derived from anabolic steroids are actually due to increased aggressiveness, a by-product of steroid use. This rise in aggressive behavior causes the athlete to train harder, resulting in strength improvements.
Are the chances of strength improvements worth the risks? Medical findings report that 50 percent of athletes using steroids will experience liver toxicity, the most serious potential complication of steroid use. While most of the adverse effects on the liver are reversible, the long-term effects are unknown. There are a number of cases in medical literature strongly linking anabolic steroid administration and liver cancer.
Kidney disorders have also been associated with anabolic steroids. A fatal malignancy, Wilm’s Tumor, caused the death of two champion athletes, both of whom took anabolic steroids.
Heart disease is another risk involved in steroid use. One effect of steroids is fluid retention, which can produce an elevation in blood pressure. Hypertension, high blood pressure is a deadly disease that can develop in even a young athlete. Larry Pacifico, a nine time world powerlifting champion, almost died from heart disease at the age of thirty-five. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, August, 1983, Pacifico stated, “I’m convinced my steroid use contributed to my coronary artery disease. I’m certain of it, and so is my doctor.”
The prostrate gland is also affected by steroids, as certain prostrate cancers are androgen dependent. The link of steroids to cancer was made by Ciba Pharmaceutical, the company that manufactured Dianabol, a once popular steroid that has since been banned from production: “…there is a considerable body of evidence to be presented at this conference (International Conference for Physicians and Scientists)
Desperate athletes.” In his upcoming book, Ergogenesis: Achieving Peak Athletic Performance Without Drugs, Dr. Hatfield lists nearly 100 substitutes and techniques from which athletes may choose. Among those alternatives are: (1); amino acid therapy, (2) inosine – a metabolic activator sold in health food stores, (3) herbs and preparations – already popular in Western Europe and the Soviet Union, (4) professionally structured and supervised nutritional counseling by a nutritionist, (5) psychological intervention utilizing mental-imagery, mental workouts, focus and concentration principles taught by a sports psychologist, (6) professional muscular assessment, individualized prescription and training by an exercise scientist. With these and other risk-free alternatives being developed and made available today, hopefully the choice of the new generation of athletes will be a healthful one.