Doping
Unfortunately, the role of science in sport is often synonomous with doping, such is the nature of international elite sport these days. Growing scepticism, discontent and contoversy cast a shadow of elite performance, particularly in the Tour de France, which is scrutinized like no other event.
We've tried to cover doping in sport as comprehensively as possible. Below are some of the articles we've featured in the past year, both news-related doping stories, and some insights into the physiology of drugs - how they work, and how much they work?
Enjoy!
1 Comments:
I'd like to hear your views on the use of NSAIDs in distance running. It seems common for amateur ultra marathon runners here in South Africa to use NSAIDs before and during races, although my running partner, a physician, tells me that (a) it can lead to fatal kidney failure and (b) it's probably on providing a placebo effect anyway.
I'd be interested to hear your views on:
(1)Are they dangerous? Can hydration be sufficiently controlled to manage this risk?
(2)Can they help to stop leg pain such as knee pain and general muscle fatigue?
(3)If so, why is the reduction of muscle fatigue, or muscle/joint pain seen as a form of performance enhancement, so that NSAIDs would be illegal, performance enhancing drugs? NSAIDs don't appear to be illegal...
(4)If they were legal, and they helped, and they were safe, when and under what regimen should they be taken?
(5)I've googled this extensively and have found very little, apart from some discussion room chat on a Comrades site. It would appear that this matter, well known to the South African community, is being ignored by the organisers of major events, when I think, due to the extensive use of these drugs, those organisers should be strongly discouraging their use. In fact many runners are probably not aware of the dangers of NSAIDs which are often commonly available in their own medicine cabinets
(6)Are there any exceptions when they might be used? i.e. a nagging injury, ITB etc, when an athlete could take a couple of drugs the night before a race?
(7)Is there any evidence of NSAIDs being used by elite athletes? How extensive is this? Is it common knowledge or something that elite athletes don't talk about. Do they consider it cheating?
(8)(and this might be a seperate issue altogether!)What "muti" is contained in elite athletes' water bottles during those big city marathons when they're seperately laid out for them..? NSAIDs?
Post a Comment