SPORTS DOPING: THE EFFECTS, PREVENTION & TESTS.

 

Contents of this site:-

1. Definition of doping.

2. Purpose and reason for doping in sports.

3. The problem with doping (ethics, sportsmanship).

4. The types of performance enhancing drugs that are used.

5. Effects of drugs on the athlete (physical/psychological).

 

 

1. DEFINITION OF DOPING.

 

Doping is the habit of using chemical substances such as drugs, hormones or practising non-natural methods to enhance athletic performance (Freudenrich, 2003; Haynes & Fitch, 1992). According to the Council of Europe, sports doping is the utilising of materials that are foreign to the body, in minute or large quantities, or the application of psychological processes with the purpose of improving the athletic performance in a competition in a dishonest manner [Ferstle, 1993 , p256]. The use of drugs as medicine to alleviate pain, as a course of therapy or as treatment is also considered doping if the effect of that drug causes the performance of the athlete to be superior to the regular level [Ferstle, 1993, p256].

 

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2. PURPOSE AND REASON FOR DOPING IN SPORTS.

 

There are numerous factors that contribute to the usage of drugs in sports, among the factors are to invigorate the body, to develop bulk and strength of muscles or bones, to boost transport of oxygen towards exercising tissues, to hide pain, to relax, to decrease weight and to conceal the utilising of other drugs (Freudenrich, 2003). The reasons why these factors are important will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

 

Drugs are used to stimulate the body to lessen tiredness, boost energy level and keep up aggressiveness so that the athlete will react readily to any situation. As a quicker and easier alternative to build larger and stronger muscles or bones, drugs are also utilised. The importance of larger and stronger muscles and bones is because it can increase the force or power of an athlete’s movements e.g.: stronger hitting or kicking.

 

During training or competition, oxygen is an essential component of producing energy. Oxygen is utilised via the aerobic respiration pathway to oxidise glucose to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules. These ATP molecules are responsible in powering the movement of muscles. If oxygen is absent, glucose is converted to ATP molecules via the anaerobic respiration pathway to produce a smaller quantity of ATP. Anaerobic respiration will also produce lactic acid that causes the muscles to tire easily. Clearly, the more oxygen available in the body, the more beneficial it will be for the athlete.

 

Athletes who regularly compete run a higher chance of getting sports-related injury. They also have the risk of feeling stressed due to various reasons such as being beaten by the opposition, losing games, pressurised by sponsors, fierce competition, excessive public attention or having tight schedules. Injury or stress has a negative effect on the performance of the athlete and using drugs that mask pain can help alleviate the physical or psychological suffering due to injury or stress.

 

The need to relax is important for an athlete because too much tension and anxiety can cause an athlete to be nervous, intimidated, uncoordinated in movement and less focused on the game thus drugs are used to relax. Relaxants can also used to unwind after a game.

 

An athlete who uses drugs to decrease weight usually does so to fit in lower weight categories. Being heavier than an opponent can be advantageous in sports such as boxing or weight lifting.

 

Drugs that can be used to hide the use of other drugs are important so that bans and fines will not be imposed upon the athletes. This happens in drugs such as diuretics that can increase urine volume so that the drug that is intended to be masked is diluted and metabolised.

 

In the end the reason for an athlete’s need to be stronger, faster, have a higher endurance or higher threshold for pain is because of the lucrative rewards that are offered to winners. Money, prestige, fame, sponsorship and idolisation are strong incentives that can make an athlete turn to drugs to win.

 

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3. THE PROBLEM WITH DOPING (ETHICS, SPORTSMANSHIP).

 

Numerous athletes have become human guinea pigs, experimenting with all types of substances including banned or illegal drugs in an effort to improve their athletic ability. The indiscriminate experimentation with new drugs has led to irreversible negative side effects on the body or mind of athletes and some of these experiments have resulted in coma and death. For example, amphetamines have been linked to many athletes’ death such as the death of a Danish cyclist in 1960s Olympics and the death of British cyclist Tommy Simpson during the Tour de France of 1967 [Ferstle, 1993 , p254].

 

The taking of performance enhancing drugs is damaging to the spirit and progress of sports. Doping in athletes discourages fair sportsmanship, disregards the rules for the field and brings false glory to the athletes should they win. Athletes would not know if they are competing on an equal sports ground or if their hard effort is being undermined by an easier scientific way (WADA, 2003).

 

Doping not only cheats the opponents but also promoters, sponsors and public. If the public does not respect the integrity of athletes due to repeated doping scandals, the honest hard-working athlete will also be associated with the doping stigma. Clean athletes who give outstanding performances will be accused of using drugs and will not receive the praise and encouragement that they deserve. If doping is allowed to spread unchecked, the impression that it gives is that normal hard training is not sufficient and not good enough to win the game (WADA, 2003).

 

 

4. THE TYPES OF PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS THAT ARE USED.

 

The types of drugs used are as stated in the following table:-

 

Table 1: Types of performance-enhancing drugs used grouped by their effect. (Adapted from information as of Freudenrich, 2003.)

Purpose	Drugs
Stimulants	caffeine amphetamines cocaine
Develop muscle/ bone	anabolic steroids beta-2-antagonists human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) luteinising hormone (LH) human growth hormone (hGH) insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) insulin peptide hormones
Boost oxygen delivery	erythropoietin blood doping artificial oxygen carriers
Mask pain	narcotic analgesics adrenocorticotrophic hormones (ACTH) cortisone local anaesthetics
Relaxants	alcohol beta-blockers cannabinoids
Decrease weight	diuretics
Hide use of other drugs	diuretics epitestosterone plasma expanders secretion inhibitors

 

5. EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON THE ATHLETE (PHYSICAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL).

 

The effects of the various drugs stated in the table above on the athlete have been documented. It is found that irresponsible usage, the usage without prescription and the usage contrary to the original intention will cause adverse effects to develop both physically and psychologically. The following paragraphs will explain the function of the drugs, what they are normally used for and the negative effects that can develop with abuse. However, only certain mainstream drugs that are frequently used will be described.

 

Diuretics are drugs that affect the kidneys, which increase the amount of urine produced and excreted. There will be a loss of salt and water through the urinary tract. Diuretics are mainly used to ease hypertension, to treat acute and chronic heart failure and treat fluid retention. The negative side effects are dizziness, upset stomach, rash, kidney dysfunction, salt and water imbalance, dehydration, hypotension, metabolic alkalosis, renal dysfunction, impotence and gout. (Mazzei, Botre, DiPaolo, & Pelliccia ,2003).

 

Erythropoietin (EPO) are hormones secreted by the kidney that stimulate the bone marrow and increase red blood cells production thus increasing red blood cell mass, haemoglobin and haematocrit. In sports, recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) is used. EPO is used to treat deficiencies such as anaemia caused by kidney dysfunction. The negative side effects are hypertension, abdominal pain, pus accumulation, arm/back/jaw pain, blurred vision, breathing difficulties, chest pain, chills, confusion, cough producing mucus, fainting, vomiting, irregular heartbeat and many more (Botre, Mazzei, DiPaolo & Pelliccia, 2003a).

 

Stimulants (psychostimulants or sympathomimetics) are chemicals derived from adrenaline, which affect the central nervous system directly as they increase the activity of the brain and the body. Stimulants are normally used to stimulate activity of the heart when a heart attack occurs that stops the heart and used as antidepressants. The effects that can develop are rapid heart rate, palpitations, hypertension, chest pain, respiratory suppression, vomiting, hallucinations, delirium, aggression, psychosis, muscle cramps, suicidal tendencies, memory loss, fatal kidney & lung disorders, liver damage, stroke, permanent psychological problems et cetera (Botre, Mazzei, DiPaolo & Pelliccia, 2003b).

 

Anabolic steroids (AS) are hormones that are similar to the male sex hormone testosterone. Testosterone induces growth and development of muscles. AS is used to build up muscles. The effects of AS are insomnia, vomiting, sterility, sexual dysfunction; body hair, beard, deep voice, interrupted menses & coarse skin in women; feminine breasts and shrunken testicles in men, brain damage, cardiovascular damage, liver damage, kidney disease and psychological damage (Botre, Mazzei, DiPaolo, Gorostiaga & Pelliccia, 2003c).

 

 

 

6. STEPS TAKEN TO PREVENT DOPING.

 

Media reports of the death of athletes due to doping pressured governmental organisations and sports bodies to pass legislation and form drug testing programmes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had set up a medical commission in 1967 to draft rules that ban doping and began the random testing of athletes [Ferstle, 1993, p254]. Many independent and non-governmental organisations have been set up to tackle the doping problem. Examples of prominent organisations are :-

Ø       World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA]

Ø       Anti Doping Commission of India Australian Sports Drug Agency [ASDA]

Ø       Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee [ASDMAC]

Ø       Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport [CCES]

Ø       Concerted Action in the Fight against Doping In Sport [CAFDIS]

Ø       Live Clean Play Clean

Ø       The New Zealand Sport Drug Agency [NZSDA]

Ø       South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport [SAIDS]

Ø       UK Sport (Anti-Doping section)

Ø       U.S. Anti-Doping Agency [USADA]

(Welsh Development Agency and Wired International Ltd, 2003).

 

There have been web-based educational programmes where the same education and skill will be accessible to coaches everywhere in a layout that can easily be modified to suit different interests, settings and timetables. (Ligue Europeenne de Natation, 2001).

 

 

7. TESTS FOR DOPING IN ATHLETES.

 

Testing for drugs is essentially the scientific procedure of investigating body fluids for the occurrence of banned substances and the first doping tests were done using saliva [Ferstle, 1993, p255]. In an attempt to uncover if an athlete has taken performance-enhancing drugs, sports administrators have turned to the knowledge of laboratory scientists that can help detect for banned substances [Ferstle, 1993, p254].

 

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REFERENCES:-

 

Botre, F., Mazzei, F., DiPaolo, F., & Pelliccia, A. (2003a). Erythropoietin. Retrieved September 24, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.cafdis-antidoping.net/en/article.asp?articleid=304

 

Botre, F., Mazzei, F., DiPaolo, F., & Pelliccia, A. (2003b). Stimulants. Retrieved September 24, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.cafdis-antidoping.net/en/article.asp?articleid=337

 

Botre, F., Mazzei, F., DiPaolo, F., Gorostiaga, E. & Pelliccia, A. (2003c). Anabolic/Androgenic Steroids. Retrieved September 24, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.cafdis-antidoping.net/en/article.asp?articleid=336

 

CCSA- Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (1990).Comments on the Report of the Dubin Inquiry. Retrieved October 16, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ccsa.ca/docs/dubin.htm

 

CAFDIS - Concerted Action In The Fight Against Doping In Sports (2003). Gene Therapy. [On-line]. Retrieved September 9, 2003 from the World Wide Web : http://www.cafdis-antidoping.net/en/default.asp

 

Ferstle, J. (1993). Evolution & Politics of Drug Testing. In C.E. Yesalis (Ed.), Anabolic Steroids In Sports & Exercise. (pp. 253 – 282). Illinois : Human Kinetics Books.

 

Freudenrich, C. (2003). How performance enhancing drugs work. [On-line]. Retrieved August 19, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.howstuffworks.com/athletic-drug-test.htm

 

Haynes, S.P., & Fitch, K.D. (1992). Doping. In J. Bloomfield, P.A. Fricker & K.D. Fitch (Eds.), Textbook of Science & Medicine In Sport. (pp. 525 – 534). Illinois : Human Kinetics Books.

 

Ligue Europeenne de Natation (2001). Ethics and Doping on e-learning agenda for European Swimming Coach. Retrieved October 16, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.len-aquatics.org/media/prreleases/2001/elearn-antidope092001.pdf

 

Mazzei, F., Botre, F., DiPaolo, F., & Pelliccia, A. (2003). Diuretics. [On-line]. Retrieved September 24, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.cafdis-antidoping.net/en/article.asp?articleid=354&page=2

 

O’Muircheartaigh, S. & Cummiskey, J. (2002). Narcotic analgesics. Retrieved September 24, 2003 from the World Wide Web : http://www.cafdis-antidoping.net/en/article.asp?articleid=307

 

Welsh Development Agency and Wired International Ltd (2003). Websites. [On-line]. Retrieved October 16, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.drugsinsport.net/

 

WADA - World Anti-Doping Agency (2003). Perspectives. [On-line]. Retrieved September 9, 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.wada-ama.org/en/t1.asp

 

 

 

 

 

02B3202 M.S.H.S.

02B3217 E.H.H.M.

(BSc. Biological Science) 3rd November 2003

 

 

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