SPORTS »» COMPETITION »» PEDs »» Apr 12, 2021

Admissions by many current and former professional baseball players have shown how rampant the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is in this sport. PEDs include steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) - but there are many more. Professional athletes in football, track and field, hockey and cycling are also known to have used PEDs which aid in building muscle, oxygenating blood and recovering from injuries. The use of steroids is illegal unless prescribed by a doctor for a known medical condition. However, PEDs are easily obtained online, or from unscrupulous doctors or over-the-counter pharmacies in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Steroids are proven to increase muscle mass, especially when combined with proper nutrition and strength training, but they can also cause muscle-tendon injuries and have serious side-effects. These include heart and liver damage, endocrine system problems, elevated cholesterol levels, strokes, aggressive behavior and the shrinkage and dysfunction of genitalia. All our major sports leagues and the International Olympic Committee test their athletes for PEDs. However, HGH is difficult to detect, and newly-developed