The Good the Bad the Ugly: The Truth on Steroids

The topic of steroid use in sports continues to make the headlines more frequently. There may be a legitimate reason for steroid use. One example would be that the drug helps the athlete overcome personal injuries. Steroids help the repair process, by quickly repairing joint tissues allowing them to return to the game rapidly and to compete more competitively. Steroids have always been a major issue in sports. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire both openly used steroids, and the two had the greatest homerun dual in the mid 1990’s, which brought in more than eight million dollars in endorsement, air time, and ticket sales. Professional sports can have a huge impact on the human body as they are constantly pushing themselves to the limit and have a high chance of running into injuries and skeletal problems throughout the intense seasons. When players are hit with injury, it can seriously impact ones career, and also the performance of an entire team. As an athlete progressively uses steroids, their bodies will begin to react negatively to the unnatural change. The short term side effects for men is acne, testicular shrinkage, decreased sperm count, enlarged breasts in men, high blood pressure, fluid retention, abnormal liver function, and prostate enlargement (all of which however are reversible when off the drug). Women can experience many of the same dangerous effects as men including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and liver damage. Anabolic steroids can affect women differently than men, and in some cases as the female representations of male characteristics such as balding, deepening of the voice, facial and body hair growth. Furthermore, this drug is used to increase muscle size and reduce body fat on both men and women. Steroids are used as a drug and often abused in three cycles in which each step is different. “The first step is cycling, where you take multiple doses of steroids for a period of time then stop and start again. These second cycle is stacking, in which the abuser takes two or more different types. By doing this the abuser doubles the effect that the steroids have on the muscle increase. The last step is pyramiding, in this step the abuser cycle their doses in 6 to 12 weeks. At the beginning of the process the doses start of low and increase and in the second half of the cycle the doses decrease so that the body can adjust to high doses” (Alejandro Macias). Anabolic steroids change muscle mass and strength by two processes. First, the steroids lead to an increased production of proteins, which are the building blocks of muscle. The steroids also block the effect of the hormone cortisol on muscle tissue, so that existing muscle is broken down at a slower rate. Additionally, anabolic steroids lead to cells differentiating into muscle more readily than fat (http://chemistry.about.com/od/medicalhealth/a/anabolicsteroid.htm). A story from the steroids controversy is the one of the greatest defensive ends in NFL history Lyle Alzado. Lyle Alzado's ticket to the NFL was anabolic steroids. An undersized player in high school, he began experimenting with the muscle-building drugs in college and never stopped. That led to a lucrative career in the NFL. But in 1992, seven years after playing in his last regular-season game, Alzado died from brain lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. He was 43. Although there is no medical link between steroids and brain lymphoma, Alzado was certain the drugs were responsible for his cancer. He became a symbol of the dangers of steroid abuse (http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Alzado_Lyle.html). Although there is no medical evidence that links steroid use to brain cancer this story advocates to the anit-steroid movement. A other story of steroid abuse is the one of Taylor Hooton. By all accounts, Taylor was popular and ebullient. He was a cousin of Burt Hooton, the former major league pitcher, and his brother pitched in college.