What You Need to Know About Steroids & Sports
The NATA, in collaboration with the Taylor Hooton Foundation is offering important tips on anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs, primarily for students. We hope that you will also share these with other health care professionals, athletes, parents, coaches, athletic directors, media, school administrators, local PTA and Booster Clubs to encourage young athletes – and athletes of ALL ages – to be smart and SAFE when it comes to sports performance
- NATA condemns steroid use in sports at any level, except by physician referral for therapeutic use, and will continue to provide solid education on its inherent dangers and its support of a ban on these substances at any level of sport.
- 84 percent of high school students have never had a coach, parent or teacher talk with them about the dangers of performance enhancing drugs according to the Hooton Foundation.
- NATA is committed to continued education on the serious health problems steroids can cause both short and long term. Offer to make presentations during PE class and at team meetings, and set up one-on-one meetings with parents and teachers. Disseminate important tips in school newsletters, Web sites or other communications outlets.
- Educate others about the difference between athletic trainers and personal trainers and ask them to reference the profession correctly. Make sure they understand that athletic trainers specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illnesses and have a minimum of a bachelor's degree while personal trainers, who focus solely on fitness and conditioning, have vastly different education and certification requirements.
Also see NATA's official statement on steroids
Talking Points to share with students about steroid abuse
- If you're trying to improve your overall physical stamina, conditioning and strength, work with your athletic trainer and coach to develop a program.
- There are no short cuts to winning. Drugs not prescribed by a physician are not safe and can have adverse effects now and in the future. Hard work, conditioning, strength training, dedication to your team and sport, and practice are the ways to excel on the playing field.
- Anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are not regulated or quality-controlled and provide danger from a health and eligibility standpoint.
- Steroids do not replace proper nutrition. Without the right balance of nutrient-rich foods your body cannot be fueled to perform at its best. Talk to your athletic trainer, school nurse, health teacher or doctor for more information.
- Taking steroids can have physical and emotional consequences and can be life threatening. You can suffer from short and long term health issues.
- Steroid use can lead to a shortened life. The cardiovascular system comes under heavy attack from steroids. Good cholesterol levels go down, bad cholesterol levels go up, increased water and salt retention can result in high blood pressure. All of this leads to increased chances of strokes and heart attacks.
- Other physical dangers include: hypertension, liver cysts and/or cancer, increased chance of injury to tendons, ligaments and muscle, jaundice, trembling, aching joints and bad breath.
- Behavior can be affected. Effects include mood swings, aggression, severe depression, paranoia, extreme irritability, delusions, impaired judgment and a sense of invincibility (in other words you think you can do things that you actually can't). Many of these feelings are even worse when a user stops using these drugs. Some of these feelings can last for a year after you stop using steroids.
- A male using steroids has additional risks and is prone to sexual problems including impotence. The user can develop male breasts (gynecomastia) and experience testicular atrophy. Additionally, they are at risk of prostate growth and cancer.
- A female using steroids has additional risks and is prone to development of facial hair, male pattern baldness, loss of menstrual cycle, reduction in the size of their breasts, inflammation of sexual body parts and deepened voice. There is even a potential for birth defects when you have children.
- Possession of anabolic steroids without a legitimate prescription is illegal, and all performance enhancing drugs are banned in high school, college and professional sports. Use of these substances can result in loss of eligibility and potential legal consequences.
- Talk to your athletic trainer, coaches or doctor if you have questions about steroids or performance enhancing drugs.
- How we think about our bodies is vitally important. Having a good body image is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle and sense of self. If you're taking care of the outside, but not the inside (through proper exercise and diet), you're putting yourself at risk of injury, fatigue and compromised performance.
- Remember that sports participation is about fun and personal satisfaction. Your own skill, persistence and practice will pay off.