They had some interviews with admitted users. One was a female track and field athlete. She mentioned how she had torn something in her foot that had been giving her trouble for a long time, and once she started the cycle of anabolic steroids it finally healed so completely she couldn’t even remember which foot was hurt anymore.
It got me thinking about what a common thing it is for amateur and pro athletes alike to have nagging injuries of this sort, torn muscles, ligaments, tendons etc, that can just go on and on.
There is anecdotal evidence that steroids could be the most effective treatment for these sorts of problems, by a long shot. (Not just this one female track athlete, its a thing a lot of users notice) Yet not only are we not legally allowed to try this, even if we don’t compete in races that don’t allow it
but researches can’t even look into it, because there is such a stigma
You need to make the distinction between ANAlbolic and CATabolic. I doubt the former would help healing, and the latter might be like using an Hbomb to kill a mouse infestation… It’ll work, but the side effects are worse than the problem
I am making the distinction. I’m talking purely about anabolic steroids. All anecdotal evidence points to them rapidly speeding up recovery from injuries. Now that may be wrong, but since its near impossible to even study anabolic steroids in humans, we may never know =)
You need to make the distinction between ANAlbolic and CATabolic. I doubt the former would help healing, and the latter might be like using an Hbomb to kill a mouse infestation… It’ll work, but the side effects are worse than the problem
Uh, yeah. I’m not arguing against anyone, I just like proof (and not pictures of Ahhhhnold when he was taking 'roids to look huge.) I have no doubt that there are lots of NFL players on “the clear”, “the cream” or even horse tranquillizers (if those things help them bulk up). What about using the 'roids for injury repair, like the OP said?
The opening anecdote from Will Leach’s “God Save the Fan” was about how a member of his beloved St. Louis Cardinals took a cortizone injection to finish the regular season and lead the Cards to the World Series championship (Scott Rolen, maybe?). Cortizone is a steroid. So, Leach asked, what’s the difference, under baseball’s (unenforced, apparently) rules, between taking a 'roid to numb some pain, and taking one to stay ahead of the game?
cortizone is not an anabolic steroid though.
they are distinct types of drugs with very different affects and risks.
but yes, you can make the point that cortizone injects do help improve performance, and do have risks, just like anabolic steroids
in fact you could argue cortizone is WORSE, since it just masks the pain rather than really healing it or making anything stronger.
The opening anecdote from Will Leach’s “God Save the Fan” was about how a member of his beloved St. Louis Cardinals took a cortizone injection to finish the regular season and lead the Cards to the World Series championship (Scott Rolen, maybe?). Cortizone is a steroid. So, Leach asked, what’s the difference, under baseball’s (unenforced, apparently) rules, between taking a 'roid to numb some pain, and taking one to stay ahead of the game?
It is interesting that the NBA seems to never get spoken about when performance enhancing drugs come up. Isn’t it interesting that Shaq is having such a great year this year after several years of decline. And given the number of games these guys play every year wouldn’t they stand to benefit A LOT from drugs that aid recovery? Yet I can’t think of a single high profile athlete testing positive from the NBA. Baseball and cycling are getting all of the attention but I imagine this is a pretty widespread problem.
i have no doubt many NBA players turn to this stuff as they get old or during an injury
but the benefit of being huge and strong isn’t quite as much as in baseball
but as the myth of becoming “muscle bound” has gotten more exposed lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if use in the NBA is pretty rampant lately too. Physiques like lebron’s and dwight howard’s are certainly suspicious. To get that muscular and lean while living an NBA schedule is a very rare talent if its possible at all.
I posted a similar thread recently. I was curious to know why those types of things weren’t prescribed to treat severe overtraining. Just about every reply seemed to suggest that I was unethical for even asking. One doctor replied with a thoughful post that the side effects weren’t worth the risks. And yet so many athletes seem to be benefiting from these drugs with few noticeable adverse side effects. I think the the fact that these things are branded cheating (rightly or wrongly) has made them off limits for pragmatic discussion. Too much emotion involved. Personally I just see a very gray line between what is considered acceptable versus cheating when it comes to supplements. And so many things once considered illegal get legalized that it further clouds the debate. I do think that these things should be researched but the dark cloud around PEDs will prevent scientists from researching it completely.
one of the most consistently observed side effects is worsening of blood lipid profiles
which would show up as side effects later in life as heart attacks and such.
the cancer link, as far as I know, has no evidence
hair loss, a real risk but not exactly dangerous
bitch tits, a real risk but again not dangerous
nasty zits, a real risk but again not dangerous
infection from injection - a real risk when you do it yourself, not so much under a doctors supervision.
I think sane dosing of carefully selected steroids would be pretty safe, but you would have to ask yourself - “is this worth potentially affecting my hearts health down the road?”
Steroids are only part of the equation though. HGH seems to be where the real benefits to athletes are. My understanding (which is very limited) is that HGH is not a steroid and still can’t be directly tested. HGH aids in recovery and is produced naturally by the human body. I would think that these athletes (NBA, NFL, etc) are into HGH way more than steroids these days since steroids are much easier to test for.
Hard to say, the cream/clear was impossible to detect (at first) because it was a designer steroid. It isn’t that hard to make new ones that can’t be detected
I think the benefits of steroids are probably more than HGH but I don’t really know. In “Book of Shadows” it is claimed that Bonds noticed his eyesight improving once he started using HGH in addition to steroids!
Steroids are only part of the equation though. HGH seems to be where the real benefits to athletes are. My understanding (which is very limited) is that HGH is not a steroid and still can’t be directly tested. HGH aids in recovery and is produced naturally by the human body. I would think that these athletes (NBA, NFL, etc) are into HGH way more than steroids these days since steroids are much easier to test for.
Uh, yeah. I’m not arguing against anyone, I just like proof (and not pictures of Ahhhhnold when he was taking 'roids to look huge.) I have no doubt that there are lots of NFL players on “the clear”, “the cream” or even horse tranquillizers (if those things help them bulk up). What about using the 'roids for injury repair, like the OP said?
And the NBA was lumped in there too.
It’s well-documented that Nandrolone (Deca Durabolin) helps with joint and tendon repair by retaining the synovial fluid within the joints. It also is a good drug for adding muscle mass and strength as well while mitigating any damage done to tendons from heavy lifting. It’s a favorite among powerlifters for that very reason.
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