DOPING-AS A CANCER OF SPORTSPERSON

Transcription

1 DOPING-AS A CANCER OF SPORTSPERSON 1 Archana Shete 2 Dr. Mane Manohar 3 Amit Kadam 1 M.P.Ed.-I, Dept. of Physical Education, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra India 2 Asst. Prof., Dept of Physical Education, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 3 M.P.Ed.-I, Dept. of Physical Education, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra India ABSTRACT Now-a-days the level of sports performance has gone very high and the athletes wants to break the records at any cost. Some athletes doing hard work for it and others choose wrong way that is DOPING. The use of drugs is an attempt to enhance sports performance is often referred to as DOPING. In sports, doping is when an athlete uses a substance; generally an illegal drug or drugs which can only be obtain via a prescription that they believe will affect their performance. But it is the misconception of the player. Doping is not only unethical and against the rules of sports but it can result into serious health consequences. The effects of doping are very dangerous for the athletes. Therefore we must stand up against the use of doping otherwise sports will no longer be about rewarding natural ability and hard work but about winning a game at any cost. It is essential to educate sports persons/athletes from time to time regarding the harmful effects of the drugs. There should be effective value based education programs. It is required from dope scientists, team physicians, sports medicine doctors and in fact the entire sports community i.e. coaches, physical education teachers, sports scientists and the entire doping fraternity should all work together as a single team for a common goal of strengthening the anti-doping program in India for the future benefit of drug-freesport. KEY WORDS: Doping, cancer, drugs, player, and sports performance INTRODUCTION Origin of the Term Doping There are many suggestions to the origin of the word doping. It is derived from dop an alcoholic drink used as a stimulant in ceremonial dances in 18 th century Southern Africa. In 1889 Dope was used in connection with the preparation of opium for smoking and during 1890s this extended to any stupefying narcotic drug. In 1900, 289

2 dope was also defined as a preparation of drugs designed to influence a racehorse s performance. History To enhance one s sports performance, doping seems to be as old as competitive sports itself. Ancient Greek athletes used special diets and stimulating potions. Alcohol, strychnine, caffeine and cocaine were often used by sportsmen involved in endurance sports in 19 th Century. When Thomas Hicks won the Olympic Marathon in 1904, he used strychnine injections and shots of brandy. Modern Doping However, doping in modern sports has taken a different complexion with the use of substances that are known to have serious long term side effects and health risk but significantly enhance sport performance in the short term. In the 70s, anabolic steroids were widely used in sports especially where muscle strength was required. Anabolic steroids are substances that assist in muscle growth. Then there were beta-blockers, medicines used by heart patients to reduce blood pressure and heart rate. These were used in sports where calming the nerves could be useful like archery or shooting. The next stage in doping came with the designer steroids like Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). The effects of it was similar to anabolic steroids but were superior from the doper s point of view because they would escape the tests that were meant to detect steroid use. Doping is not only unethical and against the rules of sport but it can result in serious health consequences. A number of studies have investigated the health consequences associated with drugs and have provided strong evidence of their risks including hepatic cellular damage, testicular atrophy, and cardiovascular disease and psychological disturbance, muscle-skeletal effects and even increased mortality. These effects are very dangerous for the sportspersons. It is therefore called a cancer for the player s performance. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS ANABOLIC STEROID 1.Appearance 2.Skin 3.Chest 4.Genitourinary : Muscular hypertrophy, Hirsutism and voice deepening (Female) : Acne Needle marks in buttocks, thigh, deltoids, baldness : Gynecomastia ( males) Breast tissue atrophy (females) : Testicular atrophy (males) Clitoral hypertrophy (females) 290

3 STIMULANTS 1. Increased heart rate, palpitation, cardiac irregularities 2. Insomnia, Anxiety, Tremor, Aggressiveness. 3. Inhibited judgement/decision making 4. Increased potential for dehydration NARCOTICS 1. Increased pain threshold and failure to recognize injury 2. Loss of balance and coordination 3. Illusion of athletic prowess beyond inherent ability 4. A false feeling of invincibility 5. Sedation PEPTIDE HORMONES 1. Thickening of the blood clots (increases blood viscosity) 2. Increased the risk of heart attacks, myocardial infarction and strokes, pulmonary embolism 3. Overgrowth of hand, feet and face 4. Heart diseases 5. May develop resistance to long term use 6. Carpal tunnel syndrome 7. Increased oil gland production in the skin and increased sweating 8. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) 9. Nausea, weakness, shortness of breath 10. Drowsiness, coma, brain damages and death 11. Stomach irritation and ulcer 12. Softening of connective tissue 13. Osteoporosis ORGANIZING THE TESTS Sports officials organize sports events, but the task of detecting illegal drugs is devolved to others. If an athlete tests positive, he/she is punished by sanctions. Three possible cases can occur: NEW LIST OF BANNED SUBSTANCES AND METHODS 1. List of banned substances A. Stimulants B. Narcotics, both natural and synthetic C. Anabolic Agents D. Diuretics E. Peptide and glycoprotein hormones and analogs 291

4 2. Banned Methods A. Blood Doping B. Pharmacological, chemical or physical manipulation 3. List of substances under restriction A. Alcohol B. Marijuana C. Local anesthetics D. Corticosteroids E. Beta-blockers ANTI-DOPING PROGRAM The issue of doping in sport is multifaceted. It involves lot of efforts in terms of commitment, resources and desire to implement. Government of India is committed by having two independent organizations viz. National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) and National Testing Laboratory (NDTL). NDTL is engaged in the fight against doping since 1990; it got modernized since 2002 and did testing for major international games in Doping knows no ideological and geographical barriers therefore World Anti- Doping Agency(WADA) was established in 1999 (formerly looked after by International Olympic Committee, IOC) with a mission to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in sport in all its forms. Football was one of the sports that took early leadership in this fight when the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) introduced doping controls in football in 1970 as a part of a wider strategy to ensure that the results of representative matches were a fair reflection of the ability of those taking part. In 2006, FIFA launched a new developmental programme, the Futuro III. The FIFA Medical Committee educate more than 3000 physicians worldwide in football medicine over the next three years. Anti-doping education is an integral part of the instructional courses, which were launched in February CONCLUSION It is very essential to educate the sportspersons/athletes from time to time regarding the harmful effects of the drugs of abuse and penalties of being caught positive to ensure fair play in sports. It is a misconception of the player that it enhance their performance but it actually results into serious health consequences. Therefore we must stand up against the use of doping, otherwise sports will no longer be about rewarding natural ability and hard work but about winning a game at any cost. There is no doubt 292

5 that we cannot stop the development of medical science as the development of altered genetic information seeks to benefit the many patients with incurable diseases. Yet it could be hypothesized that this scientific advancement might be misused for performance enhancement in sport. In this regard, the sportspersons should be educated and there should be effective value based education programs. The education and cooperation of team physicians should form a crucial link in the chain to prevent athletes adopting such strategies. In fact, the entire sports community i.e. the coaches, physical education teachers, team physicians, sport scientists and the anti doping scientists should all work together and support WADA in is objective- Doping Free Sport. REFERENCES 1. Elliot, D. and Goldberger, L. (1996). Intervention and prevention of steroid use in adolescents. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 20, Faigenbaum, A.D., Zaichowsky, L.D., Gardner, D.E. and Micheli, L.J. (1998). Anabolic steroid use by male and female middle school students. Pediatrics, 6, Jovanovi}, D. and Radovanovi}, D. (2001). Doping i sport (Doping and sport). Niš. "Roller print". 4. Kelly, M. (1992). The role of drugs in the etiology of stroke. Clinical Neuropharmacology, 15(4), Laure, P. (2000). Doping: epidemiological studies. Presse Medicale, 29(24),