Drug Use and Athletics

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Drug Use and Athletics

• the ergogenic agents

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Ergogenic Agents
substances that work to enhance / improve
athletic performance

• Stimulants increase alertness/ reduce fatigue
• Relaxants allow for calm and steady performance
• Pain Relievers allow continued performance in
  the presence of significant pain
• Steroids stimulate muscle growth / improve
  muscle repair / decrease recovery time
• anabolic-androgenic steroids
• anti-inflammatory steroids

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Potential Dangers ofAnabolic Steroid Use

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Sterility
• Liver damage
• Roid Rage (mental instability, especially
  uncontrolled anger))

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Better Winning Through Chemistry?
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Better Winning Through Chemistry?
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Drug Testing
NCAA and IOC attempts to guarantee healthy
athletes and fair competition

• Screening - using a technique that is sensitive
  enough to identify all who may be using any given
  substance (e.g., ELISA - enzyme-linked
  immunoabsorbent assay)

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Drug Testing
NCAA and IOC attempts to guarantee healthy
athletes and fair competition

• Confirmation - using a technique that is
  specific enough to distinguish between those
  who actually are using and those who are not
  (e.g., GC / MS - gas chromatography / mass
  spectrometry)

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Drug Testing Issues
NCAA and IOC attempts to guarantee healthy
athletes and fair competition

• Invasion of privacy
• Disruption of team performance
• Demeaning process
• Potential for making mistakes

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Why the Mistakes?
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Steps to Guarantee Results

• Collection
• prevent adulteration of urine sample
• eliminate water sources (i.e., dilution
  potential)
• close door or observe procedure
• require signature of individual
• seal sample

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Steps to Guarantee Results

• Chain of Custody
• document who handles specimen
• conduct a series of tests
• report positives ONLY when screening AND
  confirmation are positive

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Steps to Guarantee Results

• Medical Examination
• conduct a personal evaluation
• gather information related to inadvertent drug
  use, if not done at collection

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Ensuring Fairness

• Test all athletes (or none) or use strict random
  sampling procedures
• Use a reliable lab for analysis
• Test for just cause (i.e., behavior that
  suggests there MAY be a drug problem)
• Enforce a strict confidentiality policy
• Include student-athletes and coaches in program
  development
• Provide opportunity to enroll in treatment