Previous Page
CONTROVERSIES STEROIDS IN SPORT
number of avant-garde bodybuilders back in the late 1940s and subsequently spread rapidly to many sports, in more recent times determining the prevalence of use of anabolic steroids, and indeed of all drugs on the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list, has become more problematic. In 2007, the anti-doping programmes of UK Sport and WADA reported that only a small proportion of tests were returned as adverse analytical findings (this is for all substances, including steroids) (21); of these, a significant proportion are recorded as no case to answer because, for example, the athlete has a therapeutic use exemption (TUE). This, in turn, means that very few individuals test positive for a substance on the prohibited list. However, some argue that anti-doping practices are flawed and unlikely to reveal the true extent of the problem (22). The 2005 drug-free sport survey found that 40% of UK sportspeople perceived the use of drugs as “to some extent a problem” within their sport (presumably at an international level), with 82% of athletes seeing the problem as predominately with performance-enhancing drugs, compared with 12% of professional players, who viewed social drugs as
a greater problem. The report also noted that, when athletes were asked to describe the nature of the problem as they saw it, several themes emerged, including that use of drugs in some countries was a problem and that road cycling appeared to have a particular problem (23). However, despite high-profile doping cases, such as that of the BALCO scandal, even those at the highest level of international sport concede that they do not know the true prevalence of the use of performance-enhancing drugs (24). The reality is, however, that the use of steroids in elite sport is only a fraction of the total number of steroid users across the globe.
HOW ARE ANABOLIC STEROIDS USED? Anabolic steroids are commonly used in self-directed high- dose polydrug regimes based on a function of availability, cost, personal goal, imitation and self-experimentation. However, some of the central tenets of steroid use practised by the majority of users are cycling, stacking and the use of ancillary drugs (11–13).
Cycling is where steroids are taken for a period of time (eg. 6–12 weeks) known as an “on cycle”, followed
TABLE 1: DRUGS COMMONLY TAKEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH STEROIDS. DATA FROM A SAMPLE OF 85 USERS ATTENDING SYRINGE EXCHANGE SERVICES IN MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 2005–FEBRUARY 2006)
Drug Tamoxifen
Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG)
Human growth hormone (HGH)
Ephedrine Clenbuterol
Insulin
Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)
Diuretics
g-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
Nalbuphine hydrochloride
Cocaine Ecstasy Cannabis
Amphetamine
Trade/other names Nolvadex®
Pregnyl® Somatropin®
Spiropent®, Ventolase®
Actrapid®, Monotard®, Humulin®
Mecasermin, Increlex®
Furosemide, spironolactone
Liquid E, Liquid X, GB Rationale for use
Tamoxifen (oral) is used as an oestrogen blocker. There is widespread prophylactic use of tamoxifen among steroid users and, anecdotally, an increasing use of aromatase inhibitors, to prevent gynaecomastia, the growth of glandular breast tissue in males.
HCG (injected) is taken to “kick start” the endogenous production of testosterone during an “off cycle” (as testosterone production is often shutdown due to high-levels of exogenous steroids).
HGH (injectable) is used as an anabolic agent and, increasingly, as a fat stripper.
Ephedrine (oral) is used as an anabolic agent and a fat stripper. Clenbuterol (oral), a b2
relatively low potential for side effects. Insulin (injectable) is used in combination with steroids as an anabolic agent. IGF-1 (injectable) is used as an anabolic agent.
Diuretics (oral and injectable) are used for a variety of reasons, including to treat water retention caused by certain types of steroids; to enhance muscular definition; and, in competitive sport, to drop a weight category.
GHB (oral) has been shown to induce slow-wave sleep that is associated with enhanced growth hormone secretion. In this context some individuals in the bodybuilding community thought that this increase in secretion could have a significant anabolic effect. (There have been a number of reports of individuals who have become addicted to the substance as a result of its use.)
Nubain®
Coke E
Marijuana, grass, skunk, weed, spliff
Speed, whizz, uppers, billy
Nalbuphine (injectable) was originally used as an anti-catabolic agent. However, use has shifted to the management of pain from training injuries and overexertion. (There have been a number of reports of individuals who have become addicted to the substance as a result of its use.)
Recreational drug (snorted); also used to enhance training. Recreational drug (oral). Recreational drug (smoked/oral); also used as a relaxant.
Recreational drug (oral and injectable); also used to enhance training. agonist, is used as an anabolic agent and a fat stripper. It is seen as having a
23