Athletes and Drug Abuse-Olympic Athletes

Athletes involvement in drugs is raising great concern in the sporting industry

The global society is experiencing a new trend of entertainment which is appreciable by their funs across the board. In a bid to achieve these athletes would go an extra mile to ensure they remain on the top and in the process indulge themselves in drug use. It is important to note that it doesn’t matter whether at high school, college, or professional athlete, drug use is a jeopardous mixture with sports. Due to the physically high demands, drug abuse puts too much at risk. Athletes push themselves and their bodies, already putting themselves at risk for injuries.

Professional athletes, especially those in the spotlight, must recognize that they are role model figures to many young upcoming athletes. But it is known that many of them do subject themselves to drugs, in many cases with performance enhancement drugs such as steroids. There are also the unfortunates that become full blown addicts to substances like crack, alcohol, and meth, destroying their careers and experiencing public humiliation. The high demands of their careers can make using drugs seem like an answer or as practical as training. The reality is that being dependent on drugs is no way of living.

Performance Drug Abuse

When addressing the topic of athletes abusing performance-enhancing drugs, statistics are inaccurate. In sports, performance-enhancing drug abuse is much like the “pink elephant” nobody dares talk about; a blind eye is turned to the issue. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy agrees that many athletes abuse performance-enhancing drugs but were not able to establish to what extent. Athletes and drug abuse must not be tolerated. Prevention, treatment and recovery can dramatically change the abuse in the world of sports.

Commonly Abused Performance Enhancing Drugs

Anabolic Steroids and Androstenedione: A synthetic testosterone, steroids increase strength and muscle mass. When taken as prescribed these drugs can aid in an athlete’s training and injury recovery. However steroids are far too commonly abused. When taken beyond the recommended dose they risk: liver problems, tumors, and high cholesterol. The psychological impairments include dramatic mood swings of anger, violence and depression.

Stimulants: Athletes gain energy from taking stimulants such as caffeine, cocaine and methamphetamines. Stimulants can mask fatigue but is followed by a crash. Even abusing caffeine puts the athlete at great risk. Side effects of stimulants include increased heart rate that can result in a heart attack, insomnia, weight loss causing muscle deterioration, convulsions, and brain hemorrhages.

Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery of Athletes and Drug Abuse

Early in an athlete’s career, like rising stars of high school basketball and football, education and prevention of drug abuse should be highly influenced. There is something to say about the influence and responsibility that a sports prodigy has. The rise and fall of an athlete’s career can be greatly shortened by the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Prevention and abstinence should be the primary concern for these athletes. Unfortunately many athletes are already in the grips of drug abuse and addiction. Finding treatment and recovery is imperative to their health and career, as well as ending the suffering from addiction.

Performance enhancement drug use in the Olympics is not a new concept. For as long as mankind has been performing in physical competitions, athletes have been looking for ways to improve their performance. Even Ancient Olympians have used peculiar methods, hopeful to increase their strength and stamina. In 1967, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) put a ban to performance enhancement drug use. That ban may have deterred many from using, but abstinence to these substances has yet to be the case for competing Olympians.

Testing for Olympic Doping

The IOC, in attempt to control Olympic doping, has integrated testing for these substances. Upon admission to the Olympics a testing regimen is required. You would think that these athletes would sustain from using drugs? The actual amount of athletes that fail the drug test is scary. The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games had a startling number of 30 athletes that failed the drug test, in Beijing they had 70 athletes fail. They were banned from the competitions. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) annually compiles a list of substances banned.

The list of drugs that WADA prohibits includes:

• Anabolic Agents: A lengthy list of steroids, testosterones and other chemicals
• Hormones, Growth Factors, and Hormone Antagonists
• Diuretics and masking Agents
• Oxygen Transfer Enhancements
• Physical and Chemical Manipulation
• Stimulants
• Narcotics
• Cannabinoids
• Alcohol
• Beta Blockers

The IOC has a no tolerance policy for the athletes that fail, they are banned from competing. As the list declines of Olympians using, hope for future Olympic athletes rise. Enhancing performance by means of drugs is essentially cheating; a clean competition is a fair competition.

Expectations of an Olympic Athlete

The high demands of an Olympic competitor consequently fuel the illicit drug use. In many cases athletes are prescribed prescription medications like steroids to aid in their training and recovery. But many become depended to the substance and surpass the recommended does to improve their performance and stamina. Dependency comes easily for these unfortunates. The physical risks they subject themselves to generally do not outweigh the rewards of use. Health risks of illicit and prescription drugs affect their immune, respiratory and psychological systems. The risk of their career and the negative message that Olympic Doping has can cause a battery of collateral damage. While appreciating the pressure the athletes have to deliver result to their funs abusing drugs is not and must not be an option for whatever reason.

Olympic doping is a harmful concoction that should be prevented by all means and treated immediately. Like any other addiction problem the involvement of experts to offer treatment is very important and the choice of such professionals matters a lot. Dr. Dalal Akoury who is the Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center has been administering treatment to addiction patients the world over for over two decades now and she is also offering exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Any athlete suffering from addiction at whatever level will be professionally handled in her care and walk out of AWAREmed a healthy person full of life.

Athletes and Drug Abuse-Olympic Athletes