Bradley Martyn, the British osteopathic surgeon and sports writer known for his scientific, intelligent articles on plant-based medicine has written an interesting article in the May/June issue of The Independent newspaper of Great Britain on the effects of steroids on athletes. In his article he questions whether athletes should be allowed to use performance enhancing drugs such as steroids. He says: “I believe there is a problem with the current trend in sport, whereby athletes are becoming more radical in their use of performance enhancing drugs… Athletes use these drugs to boost their ability, but they do so at a cost. They can also cause serious damage to their long term health.”
Many athletes take steroids because they believe that the stronger the body becomes, the better it will perform. Some even believe that steroids allow them to become stronger than their normal competitors. Others take steroids to increase their stamina. It seems that some athletes use steroids because they want to see dramatic results that cannot be achieved through the traditional training methods.
One of the questions that Bradley Martyn asks is why athletes should use steroids. He says: “Athletes who train hard, who invest heavily in training and in their performance, need all of that to succeed. But I do not believe that these players can achieve these goals by using artificial means. I think that there is a problem with the level of standards that have been set in certain sports. We are seeing, for example, very high levels of success achieved by American athletes who have not trained properly. I think that the standards that are being applied to them are too high.”
Sports have become a breeding ground for steroid use in athletes. Former football star, turned politician, movie actor and producer Arnold Schwarzenegger is now in the news for taking steroids when he was a teenager. The fact that he is now in the headlines for using steroids is a clear indication of the level of obsession with steroid use that continues to grow in today’s society. Many other athletes including cyclists, swimmers and boxers have also had to make headlines over the past ten years for steroid use.
The question of why athletes should use steroids is one that many in the sports world are grappling with. Many professional athletes see steroids as a necessary evil of sports competition. They see steroids as being a tool for achieving their goals. It is difficult to argue with the logic of an athlete who believes that his or her goal is best served by using steroids. Some even go as far as saying that if they did not use steroids they would never achieve their goals.
The use of steroids is widespread throughout North America and the rest of the world. Many high profile athletes from football to hockey and basketball have admitted to steroid use. Sports figures such as Lance Armstrong have said that they would never ingest steroids if they were given the opportunity to do so. With all this in mind, it appears that the question of why athletes use steroids has been answered. It is a reasonable question.
