I have a teenage son who loves to wrestle. Recently, he has spent a lot of time in the gym lifting weights to grow stronger. I am concerned that he may be tempted to use steroids to build stronger muscles.
Despite many warnings by pediatricians about the dangerous side-effects of anabolic steroids, usage over the past 10 - 20 years has continued to increase. Presently, estimated use during adolescence is close to 10% in males and 3% in females.
According to a position statement by concerned sport medicine experts on this important topic, use has not decreased and there is not a single serious adolescent athlete who has never been tempted to use steroids.
At this point, drug testing during high school sporting events is considered impractical and unlikely to occur. The black market at some gyms is a known fact, but little has been done to regulate or ban it.
It is important to understand that there are two classes of steroids:
- Those used in patients who benefit from the anti-inflammatory qualities of steroids (e.g., patients with asthma, allergies, eczema, or arthritis).
- Those who use anabolic steroids to enhance their athletic skills.
When used in the correct dosage, medically indicated steroids can save lives. Anabolic steroids, however, can kill or harm athletes either slowly over time or more dramatically.
Anabolic steroids are known by users as "Juice", "Hype", or "Gym Candy". These products are administered in pill form, gels, creams, or injections. The oral form is cleared from the body faster than injectable anabolic steroids, making them more popular when a cheating athlete wants to pass an anticipated drug screening test. However, liver damage is more likely when oral anabolic steroids are used.
To get the maximum effect from these potent substances, some athletes use techniques called "stacking", "pyramiding", or "cycling". The steroids are used in progressively stronger dosages or in combination with growth hormones. They are also used in alternating cycles in order to extract more power over time.
Adolescent athletes who are at an increased risk are wrestlers, football players, and short-distance sprinters. They usually use these products to develop stronger and bigger muscles. Winning at any cost has become the passion of some trainers, coaches and athletes, and this includes using performance enhancing substances to get an edge over one’s competition.
Adult role-model athletes who use anabolic steroids may have an affect on use in younger aspiring athletes. In some sports, it has almost become the norm to use performance enhancing products. Some athletes get upset when a peer is caught not because he or she is a cheater, but because it draws attention to the wide use of steroids in their sport.
Some adolescents use these products for appearance only. Having strong arm or chest muscles and a well defined abdominal "six-pack" may attract a few more girls. But it also attracts a number of medical side-effects.
The side-effects in boys include: balding, acne, liver damage, breast tissue development, stunting of growth, shrinking of the testis, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, muscle tears, dizziness, moodiness, sleep problems, paranoia, and extreme aggression. In addition to these symptoms, girls may also expect permanent hair loss, severe acne, a deeper voice, very hairy arms and legs, enlargement of the clitoris, loss of menstrual cycles, and smaller breasts.
It is thought that anabolic steroids can lead to addiction and the increased use of other mood-altering substances and drugs. When anabolic steroids are withdrawn, the user may experience symptoms such as moodiness, rage, depression, and self-harm. This was recently witnessed when a prominent wrestler "snapped" and killed his family before he committed suicide. It was thought that these tragic murders were due to so-called "roid-rage" - a condition of extreme aggression due to mental side-effects associated with the use of anabolic steroids.
Why would an athlete take the risk of experiencing a long list of side-effects? One reason may be the fact that society increasingly sees winning as all that matters and that nice people finish last. A poll taken anonymously by Olympic athletes showed that if given the choice between a guaranteed gold medal or possible minor side-effects of performance enhancing substances, the majority of athletes would opt for getting the gold medal as a result of steroid use.
Both parents and coaches have a responsibility to teach young athletes that cheating is not so much about cheating your opponents; in the end, it is about cheating yourself out of a healthy life ahead.
For a more detailed review of how anabolic steroids work and how they damage an athlete's life, see http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/steroids.html.
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