News of steroids has spread across the athletic industry since its usage has become the norm in the athletics for performance-enhancing outcomes. Steroid use has reached epidemic proportions in professional sports. Steroids, often called “roids”, are being used by athletes who are professional bodybuilders as well as in the National Football League (NFL, ) Major League Baseball (MLB) and even the Olympics. According to the Department of Health, a United States federal organization whose primary goal is to protect the health of all Americans, many associations place a ban on these steroids, so athletes do not admit that they abuse these performance-enhancing drugs (Department of Health, 2008). Department of Health is credible and unbiased because they are their own organization and the author Howard Zucker, who studied at Johns Hopkins and worked at MIT and the White House as a correspondent, oversees a $70 billion foundation to promote the health of New Yorkers. Anabolic steroids, which are the most common, is used as a treatment for many problems if properly used, however, when this drug is abused, they cause severe damage both medically and psychologically. These drugs are primarily used to increase muscle mass and strength. However, the debate on whether steroids should or should not be allowed in athletics continues to rise.
Steroid scandals have caused many medical and psychological studies to form. Various studies show both the risks and benefits of steroids on an athlete’s health. Steroids are administered in various forms. For example, performance-enhancing drugs can be administered through injection and can also be taken orally. The issue with steroids has become very concerning due to the increase in numbers of athletes using these drugs.
The use of steroids continues to appear all over sports and newscasts as athletes continue to gain access illegally to dominate the competition in their industry. Steroids have many benefits to health. Steroids have been used as a positive way to treat injury and many illnesses. Although research on the benefits of steroid use is minimal, the use of the drug is not unheard of and it is not unusual in the sports industry. These steroids, typically anabolic, imitate the steroids originally in a person’s body to help recovery time speed up(Better Health, 2018). This article was checked and approved by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation which is credible and unbiased because they are a foundation that does not receive funding from any government association. Athletes such as bodybuilders use steroids to increase the amount they can lift. In addition, bodybuilders utilize performance-enhancing drugs to maximize training time and provide an advantage over competitors. This form of a testosterone treatment is generally well tolerated by athletes (Linnaeus, 2017). Injury prone athletes rely on steroids to decrease the recovery time and maximize their competition time. There are various studies that show steroids benefit patients with a trauma. A research with mice tested the effect on steroids long-term. The scientists found that “muscle memory” plays a significant role in steroid effects. With people exercising at young and older ages, muscles grow easier over time. When researchers tested the mice they found that three months after a brief exposure of testosterone, their muscles grew by 30% with exercise. Compared to a control group which experienced a 6% growth in the same amount of time (McGrath, 2013). This research was reported by Matt McGrath, an environmental correspondent and author for BBC News. Another benefit includes increased body size by increasing weight and muscle size.
On the other hand, people argue that the use of steroids is not beneficial for athletes. A substantial amount of evidence has been gathered to counter the benefits of steroids. Steroids, in fact, do increase muscle mass and decrease recovery time. However, they lead to many health issues. One disadvantage due to the use of steroids is the abuse of the drug. Athletes abuse performance-enhancing drugs despite all of the risks and consequences that may result in many negative outcomes. Uninformed athletes frequently combine two or more forms of steroids. According to Masoumeh Navidinia, who studied in the school of Allied Medical Sciences and now works for the faculty of medical bacteriology, some side effects documented from long-term steroid use include disorders in the development of men and women and internal issues (Navidinia, 2017). The most common reaction of using steroids is the dependency of the drug. With a continuing use of performance-enhancing drugs, athletes begin to develop a reliance on the drug. This distinct dependency syndrome can be characterized by constant Anabolic-androgenic steroid use affecting physiological and physical functioning. As stated in an article by Gen Kanayama, a doctor at Mclean Hospital who developed an animal model for Alzheimer’s disease performed a study which showed about 30% of users developed the dependency syndrome (Kanayama, 2009). Withdrawal symptoms can be seen in many ways. For instance, signs of depression such as loss of sleep and a lack of appetite result as an effect of withdrawal. In a survey, 28 out of 49 professional bodybuilders qualified as addicts. A majority of these addicts resort to “stacking” in which they will use up to three steroids at a time (Bower, 2016). Bruce Bower has written peer-reviewed journals since the late 1980s and is an author on WIRED and Science News. Dependency continues to be the leading negative aspect of steroids, sometimes which can lead to serious defects or death.
Along with many medical benefits and disadvantages, there are many psychological issues affected with the use of steroids. Anabolic steroids do not have the same short-term effects as other drugs. Unlike other substances, steroids do not cause the increase in dopamine levels which cause a “high.” Long-term use of anabolic steroids can alter some of the brain’s pathways. Researchers believe a lot of these changes correlate with hormonal developments (Bellum, 2018). Sara Bellum is the author of a magazine series which describes the effects of different drugs on the brain. These hormonal changes can lead to a significant effect on mood swings and depression. These episodes of “roid rage” causes angry feelings and a violent behavior (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016). The National Institute on Drug Abuse is an association whose main goal is to inform drug abuse and addiction. Depression is one of the various side-effects caused by the overuse of anabolic steroids. If this feeling of depression increases, it can even lead to suicide. Some users may go through a phase of withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms greatly affect the mind. Overall, there are many negative results that come with the continuous use of performance-enhancing drugs.
All in all, steroids have become a dominant concern in the athletic industry. These drugs come with many medical benefits that include muscle mass increase, and a faster recovery time. However, they result in many negative side effects, for example, the dependency of the drug and the worsening of other medical issues. Steroids, as unpredictable as they can be, will continue to find their way into the athletic industry. Despite the rules and regulations that professional sports associations will enforce, most high school, college, amateur and professional athletes have continued to gain access to these drugs illegally. Steroids, from affecting the medical states of a player, to psychologically damaging them, these performance-enhancing drugs are the new fad in the giant industry that its professional sports today.