Chapter 14

Substance Use:

Chemical Roulette in Sport

By Mark H. Anshel

Overview

How much of a problem is substance abuse in sport? Why do athletes take these drugs?

What types of ergogenic aids are used in sport and exercise?

What are the effects and consequences of performance-enhancing drugs?

Pros and cons of drug use in sport. Controlling drug use in sport.

Use of Ergogenic Aids in Sport

In the context of sport, an ergogenic aid can be broadly defined as a technique or substance used for the purpose of enhancing performance. Ergogenic aids have been classified in the following ways: • Nutritional (creatine)• Pharmacological (steroids)• Physiological (blood doping)• Psychological (mental skills)• Biomechanical (equipment, such as racing

helmets)

Doping

The administering or use of substances in any form alien to the body or physiological substances taken in abnormal amounts and with abnormal methods by healthy persons with the exclusive aim of attaining an artificial and unfair increase of performance in competition.

(Prokop, 1990)

History of Doping

Ancient Greeks ate plants to try to improve performance at the Olympic Games.

1886: Fatality of an English cyclist using the stimulant trimethyl.

1904 Olympic Games: Some American cyclists used strychnine.

1952 Olympic Games: Cyclist’s death caused by amphetamine overdose.

Historical Efforts to Stop Doping

1950s: IOC passed a resolution against doping.

1967: IOC established a medical commission to control drug use.

1976 Montreal Olympic Games dominated by East German women‘s swim team (they win all but 2 events, their FIRST gold medals ever).

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Historical Efforts to Stop Doping (cont)

1983: The USOC Drug Control program was established (widespread perception that the USOC was helping athletes beat testing programs).

1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul: Ben Johnson.

Motives for Doping

Competitiveness:

The perception that doping is necessary for success.

Self-esteem:

If success is seen as essential for a positive self-concept, cheating becomes possible.

Sport deviance:

Jay Coakley’s (1991) concept of positive deviance.

Positive Deviance

Overcompliance to the norms and values embodied in the sport ethic:• Win at all costs• No pain, no gain• Sacrifice for the team

Possible to view illegal behaviors (steroid use) as positive because they are for the good of the team (help us win)

(Hughes & Coakley, 1991)

Classes of Banned Substances

Anabolic-androgenic steroids

Stimulants Narcotic analgesics Beta-adrenergic

blockers Diuretics

Terminology

Drug misuse:

The taking of a substance for a purpose, but not in the appropriate amount, frequency, strength, or manner.

Drug abuse:

“The deliberate use of a substance for other than its intended purpose, in a manner that can damage health or the ability to function” (Lombardo, 1993).

Fundamental Problems With Doping

Ethics: Illegal use (e.g., steroids) gives athletes an unfair advantage

Addictive potential

Harmful side effects

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids

Steroids:

Synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. Modified to stay in system.

Anabolic effects:

Increasing muscle strength and size.

Androgenic effect:

Masculinizing

Steroid Use in Sport

Injectable and ingestible steroids.

Cycling: the use of cycles of steroids to avoid tolerance. A cycle is a period of between 6 and 14 weeks of steroid use, followed by a period of abstinence or reduction in use.

Stacking: the use of combinations of different steroids to enhance or potentiate the effects.

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Steroid Use in Sport (cont)

Pyramiding: With this method users slowly escalate steroid use (increasing the number of drugs used at one time or the dose and frequency of one or more steroids), reach a peak amount at midcycle, and gradually taper the dose toward the end of the cycle.

Masking agents are taken to cover traces of steroids. Diuretics, probenocid, and epitestosterone may be used to mask anabolic steroid use.

Effects of Anabolic Steroids

Increased muscle size and strength

Changes in body composition (cut) with anaerobic training

Increased blood volume

Increased number of red blood cells

Decreased time for injury rehab

Harmful Consequences

Increased risk of heart disease Increased risk of cancer High blood pressure and stroke In men:

• Shrinking testes• Enlarged breasts • Hair loss• Possible sterility

“Roid rage”

Side Effects of Steroid Use in Females

Shrinking breasts and uterus

Enlarged clitoris

Increased facial and body hair

Deepening voice

Irregular menstruation

Other Performance-Enhancing Substances and Methods

Creatine

Food supplement synthesized from amino acids. In the form of phosphocreatine, it serves as an energy buffer during intense exercise.

Beneficial for anaerobic, not aerobic, sports.

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Creatine (cont)

Increases body mass. Increases water retention.

Not banned by most sports.

Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

Hormone naturally secreted by the pituitary gland promotes physical development (particularly the growth of bone) during adolescence.

It stimulates the synthesis of collagen, which is necessary for strengthening cartilage, bones, tendons, and ligaments, and also stimulates the liver to produce growth factors.

In adults, HGH increases the number of red blood cells, boosts heart function, and makes more energy available by stimulating the breakdown of fat.

Risks of HGH

Too much HGH before or during puberty can lead to gigantism, which is excessive growth in height and other physical attributes.

After puberty, inflated levels of HGH can cause acromegaly, a disease characterized by excessive growth of the head, feet, and hands. The lips, nose, tongue, jaw, and forehead increase in size and the fingers and toes widen and become spadelike. The organs and digestive system may also increase in size, which may eventually cause heart failure. Acromegaly sufferers often die before the age of 40. Excessive HGH in adults may also lead to diabetes.

GHB

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).

Produced naturally in the body, but if ingested in abnormal amounts, it can lead to distorted physical characteristics and even death.

Banned by the IOC.

EPO

Erythropoietin is manufactured naturally by the kidneys. EPO stimulates the production of red blood cells in bone marrow and regulates the concentration of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood. This is useful for athletes, since red blood cells shuttle oxygen to the cells, including muscle cells, enabling them to operate aerobically.

By injecting EPO, athletes aim to increase their concentration of red blood cells and, consequently, their aerobic capacity.

EPO and Cycling

EPO hit the headlines in 1998 when the Festina-sponsored team in cycling’s Tour de France was disqualified after being caught red-handed with large quantities of it and other banned substances.

Stimulants

Amphetamines Cocaine Caffeine

• Before 2003, over 18 ounces of coffee was prohibited.

• Caffeine and pseudophedrine were removed from the list of banned substances in 2003.

Widespread use of Sudafed in NHL?• http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/

weekly/980202/nhlstory.html

Depressants

Barbiturates Beta-adrenergic blockers (for shooting sports)

• Used by many heart patients to reduce blood pressure

• Aids performance by slowing heart rate and decreasing anxiety

• Banned by IOC• Side effects include hypotension, CNS

disturbances, and impotence Alcohol Sedatives

Pro-Drug Use

Allow use because they are “part of modern sport.”

“Drugs are no more artificial than the entourage of aides and physical equipment commonplace in contemporary sport.”—Dr. Ellis Cashmore, Staffordshire University in England

Argument that current antidrug policies are fraught with hypocrisy. Sport leagues stand to gain from bigger, stronger players and more exciting contests.

Disconnected Values Model

Based on the premise that people are more likely to change their behavior when they acknowledge the disconnect between their actions (negative habits) and their deepest values and beliefs.

--Developed by Mark Anshel, based on the work of Jim Loehr,

Tony Schwartz, and Jack Groppel.

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Disconnected Values Model (cont)