Why Steroids Hinder an Athlete's Performance Essay

In an attempt to improve performance, some athletes take steroids, performance-enhancement drugs. It is imperative to note that these drugs enable athletes to improve their physical performance. As a matter of fact, steroids have a similar structure to testosterone, a male sex hormone. For this reason, the drug enhances work rate by promoting male reproductive sex characteristics. This makes athletes train longer and harder, leading to an increase in muscle strength and mass. However, it is important to note that the side effects of steroids are numerous, a situation that outweighs the benefits associated with these drugs. The side effects make the health of an athlete to deteriorate, hence hindering the performance of athletes. This paper discusses how steroids deter an athlete's performance.

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Though steroids are effective in improving the performance of athletes in the short run, their side effects, in the long run, have negative ramifications in the body of athletes. Consequently, this lowers their performance. For instance, according to Selvaraj et al., adolescents who use steroids to enhance their performance are more likely to have accelerated puberty (228-236). In addition, they are likely to experience an early closure of their long bones. This terminates bone growth for adolescent athletes, leading to a short stature of the athlete. Thus, the performance of the adolescent athlete will decrease in the long run.

Another danger related to steroid is that when administered orally, it causes liver damage. In fact, RoblesDiaz et al. elucidate that a steroid user has increased the risk of developing liver tumors, also known as hepatoma (116-125). Additionally, the athlete risks developing peliosis hepatitis. This increases cases of acquiring liver cancer which is a career-threatening disease. For this reason, an athlete using steroids will have a hindered performance in the long term.

It is also imperative to know that continuous use of steroids leads to a decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) blood levels (Penumarthy, Penmetsa, & Mannem 30). This condition makes the athlete who uses these drugs susceptible to coronary artery disease. Scientifically, steroids have the ability to enlarge a person's heart as well as making the blood platelets stickier. Hence, there are increased chances of steroid users suffering from heart attacks.

Athletes should be physically fit and devoid of any severe medical condition that threatens their performance on the pitch. The use of steroids promotes an early onset of developing prostate cancer. As mentioned earlier, steroids promote the development of testosterone hormone, which subsequently enhances the growth and flourishing of cancerous cells. Lorente et al. explain that males have cancerous lesions that exist within their prostate gland (751). It is worthy to note that these lesions are dormant and therefore never a threat to a person's life. However, high testosterone level promotes tumor growth, which enhances tumor growth and spread, leading to a reduced performance of athletes.

Another adverse effect of steroids that hinder the performance of athletes is that these drugs promote acne development on the trunk as well as the face of the body (Jha, Sinha, & Prasad 259). Other than acne, the drugs make users susceptible to gynecomastia, impotence, and reduced testis size. It is prudent pinpointing that gynecomastia, which is referred to the development of breast in males; occur as a result of the conversion of some of the testosterone to estrogen. Other effects associated with steroids include low sperm count, jaundice, and sodium retention. Psychologically, these side effects will affect the ability of athletes to competitively perform.

Athletes who use steroids to improve their performance are likely to develop eye problems. Patel and Olavarria note that steroid users are prone to blurred visions which affect their ability to see properly (1427-1429). For instance, blurred visions may affect the ability of athletes such as baseball and tennis players to see the ball clearly which may adversely affect their performance during a competition. Other than poor vision, steroids are associated with the development of glaucoma or cataracts. Also, steroid users are prone to weight gains due to an increased appetite for food. Imperatively, weight gains reduce the physical fitness of athletes which consequently reduce their ability to sprint, thus a reduced performance.

Conclusion

Some athletes have engaged in unscrupulous means such as the use of steroids in a bid to enhance their performance. In the short run, steroids improve the levels of testosterone in their body which makes their muscles to develop and enlarge. However, with time, steroids impose threats to their lives and career. These drugs have many side effects that adversely affect the athlete's ability to perform. For instance, steroids result in life-threatening conditions such as the development of prostate cancer that prevents a person from engaging in physical activities. The drug also blurs the vision of its users, which lowers the performance of athletes in sports that require high visual acuities such as tennis and baseball. Therefore, athletes need to find alternative safe methods of improving their performance such as regular exercise to avert the dangers of that using steroid can impose to their psychological and physical well-being.

Works Cited

Jha, Abhijeet Kumar, Rajesh Sinha, and Smita Prasad. "Misuse of topical corticosteroids on the face: A cross-sectional study among dermatology outpatients." Indian Dermatology online journal 7.4 (2016): 259.

Lorente, D., et al. "Baseline neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with survival and response to treatment with second-line chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer independent of baseline steroid use." Annals of Oncology 26.4 (2014): 750-755.

Patel, Amit, and Eduardo Olavarria. "Optic neuritis preceding progressive outer retinal necrosis in an immunocompromised patient after allogeneic stem cell transplantation." Annals of hematology 92.10 (2013): 1427-1429.

Penumarthy, Swati, Gautami S. Penmetsa, and Satheesh Mannem. "Assessment of serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in periodontitis patients." Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology 17.1 (2013): 30.

RoblesDiaz, M., et al. "Distinct phenotype of hepatotoxicity associated with illicit use of anabolic androgenic steroids." Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 41.1 (2015): 116-125.

Selvaraj, Sethu, et al. "Subcutaneous administration of Kiss1 pentadecapeptide accelerates spermatogenesis in prepubertal male chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus)." Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 166.2 (2013): 228-236.