OT: Using Performance Enhancers for recovery purposes

[dryheat44]

HGH abuse is widely believed to be primary cause of Lyle Alzado's death at 40-something.

 

[TheBaronPatriot]

It's a widely accepted fact that those who play professional sports, especially football, are going to live shorter lives than the average human.

So when injuries occur I ask why not go to the doctor and have a full range of access to all recovery enhancement drugs? Including HGH.

My point is that if a doctor says HGH can help you recover from a torn ACL 4 months faster, how is that a bad thing? If anything it will lead to a more productive career/life after football (presuming the drugs help better rehab)

Let me make this clear though, I only think it should be used for serious injury recovery only and with doctor cooperation.
Also, I am no doctor so I can't say whether or not HGH or other drugs can stand to benefit athletes' healing process. I am just assuming it's possible and stating I support it.

Take Rodney for example, got caught doing HGH at 34 years old.
He looks good, fast, and quick.
He took it to rehab his knee and it looks like it has worked by all accounts.
Where is the negative?

What are your opinions on this?

 

[Pujo]

The problem with it is if you allow some people to do it, then everyone will have to do it to stay competitive, and it's not a good decision for many people. I'm libertarian, I think drugs should all be legal, but drugs in sports would be a problem because of the competitive nature - once it becomes "the way business is done", then everyone will be required to do it or completely fall behind. Just limiting it to injury recovery wouldn't help, either. How could a player refuse HGH, and still stay in his coach's good grace, if it were legally available? The player would be pressured to accept a treatment that they're rightly concerned about.

 

[lusdawg]

Love the Pats ... Love Rodney ... but he was using HGH well before the knee injury. I believe it was tracked back to 2005. Plus, I agree with all that was written by Pujo.

 

[oldskool138]

If HGH is used the way you describe, it unnaturally extends a person's career (i.e.- Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmero).

If this was 10-15 years ago, a guy like Rodney would have had to retire since it would take longer to heal.

I'm against all performance enhancers (except for legit supplements and Red Bull). If you can't recover from an injury in time for the next game/season, then you're SOL. Are all players clean? No, I'm not that naive but all professional sports should make it their first priority to punish those who take the enhancers.

 

[mgteich]

I support the NFL's inreasingly strict drug policy.

Taking your argument to the extreme, since athletes are not going to live to old age, let them use whatever drugs they want, ignoring long-term potential effects. All they need to do is find a doctor who will indicate that the drug will assist recoevery. In any season, there are many hundreds of NFL players recovering from injuries. There is a long list of banned drugs that some doctor will give an athlete to help recovery. What you seem to be suggesting is that we scrap the drug policy, ignoring any other effects of the drugs, and ignore niceties such as legality. After all, the athlete should understand his own body and be able to judge the risks. Harrison did and he seems to be performing well. It seems clear to one and all that Harrison is playing at the level he is partially because of a banned performance-enhancing drug. He kew the consequences. The penalties were such that he made the choice to violate the rules and pay the penalty.

I would suggest that stricter medical policies are needed, with regard to drugs and with regard to injuries such as concussions. The NFL should be helping players to live LONGER lives, since they are in much better shape than any of us, and they have the money for anything they need to enhance HEALTH AND LONG LIFE.

To me, the important question is how to have the NFL help its veterans so that they are healthier and live longer.

This situation has been discussed in many posts. Mine is a minority position.

mark

It's a widely accepted fact that those who play professional sports, especially football, are going to live shorter lives than the average human.

So when injuries occur I ask why not go to the doctor and have a full range of access to all recovery enhancement drugs? Including HGH.

My point is that if a doctor says HGH can help you recover from a torn ACL 4 months faster, how is that a bad thing? If anything it will lead to a more productive career/life after football (presuming the drugs help better rehab)

Let me make this clear though, I only think it should be used for serious injury recovery only and with doctor cooperation.
Also, I am no doctor so I can't say whether or not HGH or other drugs can stand to benefit athletes' healing process. I am just assuming it's possible and stating I support it.

Take Rodney for example, got caught doing HGH at 34 years old.
He looks good, fast, and quick.
He took it to rehab his knee and it looks like it has worked by all accounts.
Where is the negative?

What are your opinions on this?