Performance Enhancing Drugs

Performance Enhancing Drugs

Introduction

Performance enhancing drugs in sports remain the most controversial and widely used substances to enhance athletic performance and/or physical appearance. The recent commercial availability of steroids increases the likelihood that more individuals and / or athletes use these substances in the future. The ethical and legal implications of using hormones to enhance sports performance are clear - it is unethical and illegal. However, less clear are the medical implications surrounding the use of anabolic steroids to enhance athletic performance or appearance (Greely, Henry, et al, 2008). More research is needed on these substances to get a better understanding of positive and negative attributes of the same. The purpose of this research paper is to illustrate the types of drugs that the athletes are taking to enhance their performance and the advantages and disadvantages of taking them. The assertions made during the discussion are complemented by statistics for last year on the numbers of athletes and the sport that are using it the most.

Discussion

There are different types of performance enhancing drugs used by athletes. They are often categorized by their brand and chemical properties or compound composition. The popular types of performance enhancing drugs used by athletes are Steroids that can be injectable and oral. Among steroids there are anabolic steroids such Tylenol, underground or black market steroids, prescription steroids, legal steroids and illegal steroids. These are all different perspectives of categorizing steroids (Greely, Henry, et al, 2008).

Cocaine is used by athletes in small doses to cause excitation in the beginning and then stimulate brain with process improvement and psychic functions. The consequences of using cocaine are unusual fluency, mild agitation and euphoria. The perception of fatigue diminishes considerably and the faculties of stamina rise significantly (Greely, Henry, et al, 2008). When the drug is taken by mouth its anesthetic action of the stomach lining blocks the sensation of hunger, which can be considered as interesting by the doped person in a sporting activity that is less than ninety minutes. This can become harmful and quite negative to health when the time spread is over several hours especially as in the case of long-distance running, cycling and more than five sets of heavy weight lifting. Cocaine has a stimulating effect and eases fatigue (Greely, Henry, et al, 2008). Where intoxication is not at an advanced stage, it gives better adjusted reflexes. It provides a euphoria that is coupled with a sense of invulnerability. It increases clairvoyance. In this, its effects are quite comparable to those of amphetamines. To summarize the disappearance of warning signs such as fatigue and hunger causes the body to the effort to work in a forbidden zone that can be used continuously under threat of accidents.

Anabolic steroids:

Androgenic anabolic steroids, that is, steroid hormones or synthetic analogues of steroid hormones that promote tissue growth and masculinisation, have been used by athletes to increase muscle mass and improve performance for almost 50 years. Anabolic and androgenic properties of each steroid compound are determined by their chemical ...