The Mechanics Of Steroids

A $252 million contract to play baseball causes "an enormous amount of pressure ... to perform at a high level every day," according to Alex Rodriguez. The New York Yankees' third baseman provided a few more details last week about the anabolic steroids he used from 2001 to 2003 after he had signed a record-setting deal with his former team, the Texas Rangers.

Here is what most of us know about anabolic steroids: they make muscles grow faster, there are harmful side effects to our health, most sports leagues have banned them, and they are illegal without a prescription.

But how do they actually work? Does an athlete just pop a few pills and then wait for the Popeye-spinach effect? Let's dig a little deeper into the science of steroids.

Legal uses
Anabolic steroids, or anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are the synthetic (made in a lab) derivatives of the naturally produced hormone testosterone. They promote the growth of muscle (anabolic effect) and the typical male characteristics of puberty (androgenic effect).

When legally prescribed, they are an option for patients who produce abnormally low levels of testosterone or who suffer from body-wasting diseases such as cancer or AIDS. When used by athletes, the goal is to speed up the body's natural muscle-building process.

When we lift weights heavier than what we're used to, we create tiny micro-tears in muscle fibers. The body's natural repair process repairs the tear and then overcompensates by adding bigger cells to build a stronger fiber — this is called muscular hypertrophy. Over time, this repeated process of teardown and re-build will result in muscle growth.

Natural testosterone is the body's main ingredient for this process, but anabolic steroids can serve as a supplement.

Once ingested, an AAS travels through the blood stream to the muscle tissue. It is drawn into the muscle cell's receiving dock, called an androgen receptor. Once delivered to the muscle cell, the steroid can interact with the cell's DNA and stimulate the protein synthesis process that promotes cell growth.

Different variants and amounts of AAS can cause different reactions producing either massive body-building physiques or more toned athletic muscles (i.e. Barry Bonds vs. A-Rod). Athletes experiment with different combinations (called stacking) or regimens (pyramiding) in an attempt to fine-tune the final result.  A-Rod's stack was reportedly straight testosterone and Primobolan.

Beyond bulk
While the focus in the media is on the bulked-up home run hitters, anabolic steroids can also benefit pitchers and others who need a faster turnaround from sore, overused muscles. Intense exercise also releases cortisol, known as the stress hormone, which breaks down muscle tissue, producing sore muscles.

AAS can block cortisol from binding to the muscle cell's receptor sites, which diminishes the breakdown process. Less muscle breakdown means less muscle fatigue which would allow a pitcher to recover more quickly from a nine-inning outing.

Besides all of the known negative side effects of using steroids just for ergogenic reasons, there is also the uncertainty of what exactly you are taking. Last month, federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested the owners of an Alabama-based online pharmacy on charges that they filled hundreds of illegal prescriptions for anabolic steroids for clients across the country.

The worst news for the customers of this pharmacy was delivered by U.S. Attorney Deborah Rhodes: "Each of the pharmacy owners and pharmacists named in the indictment are charged with prescribing and selling veterinary steroids, approved for cattle and livestock only, to humans." 

Please visit my other sports science articles at LiveScience.com

The Dangers Of Heat Stroke In Sports

In January, first-year Kentucky high school football coach David Jason Stinson pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless homicide in the death of Max Gilpin, a 15-year-old offensive lineman. Gilpin collapsed Aug. 20 while running sprints with the team on a day when the heat index reached 94 degrees.

Last week, Stinson pleaded the fifth amendment and did not answer questions in the civil court case against him, while his criminal case is pending.  The case could signal a landmark shift in the expectation for how coaches deal with struggling players on a hot day.

Gilpin's body temperature was 107 degrees when he reached the hospital and he died three days later from heat stroke. The risks of heat-related diseases to athletes, both young and old, are always present but the warning signs are often hidden.

Since 1995, 33 football players have died from heat stroke, according to an annual report from the University of North Carolina. Frederick O. Mueller, professor of exercise and sports science at UNC and the author of the report, calls the figure unacceptable.
"There's no excuse for any number of heat stroke deaths, since they are all preventable with the proper precautions," Mueller said.

Wake-up call
The wake-up call has been delivered to all coaches. They must be able to recognize a struggling player and resist the assumption that they're just being lazy. Dave Stengel, the prosecuting attorney in the Stinson case, described the coach's responsibility: "This is not about football. This is not about coaches," he said. "It's about a trained adult who was in charge of the health and welfare of a child."

Heat stroke is the most serious of the four levels of heat illness. Progressing from dehydration to heat cramps to heat exhaustion without intervention may lead to heat stroke where the core body temperature exceeds 104 degrees.

Since the common symptoms (nausea, incoherence, fatigue, weakness, vomiting, muscle cramps) of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are similar, it can be hard to tell when a player has crossed that dangerous line. That is why most medical professionals recommend a proactive approach to playing in the heat. Slow acclimation to the heat over several days, planned and regular water breaks, and reduced activity when the heat index rises will help prevent problems.

The National Athletic Trainers Association has published guidelines for parents and coaches to follow.

What happens
In a 2008 study, researchers explored the complex interactions in the human body when subjected to high heat and high levels of physical activity. José González-Alonso, Professor of Sport and Exercise Physiology at Brunel University, and his team looked at the competing demands for blood flow that heat and exercise cause and the physiological breakdown that eventually occurs.

Our bodies actually gain heat from both the environment and our own muscle movement. When the air temperature is greater than our skin temperature, heat will be transferred into our body. When we exercise, our contracting muscles also produce heat. In fact, about 75 percent of the energy expended is lost to heat rather than power.

To cool ourselves down, two processes must take place: increased blood flow to the skin, and sweating.
The evaporation of sweat to the air pulls heat away from the body. One kilogram of sweat evaporated from the skin will remove 580 kilocalories of heat from the body. If fluids are not replenished by drinking water, the sweating process slows down and the core body temperature rises.

Effects on body and brain
When running sprints on a football field in the heat, a player's heart needs to do double-duty; pumping blood to his muscles and to the skin. González-Alonso found that the heart will serve the metabolic demands of the muscles first, allowing the skin blood flow to diminish, which raises body temperature.  The study also found that fatigue is not a result of tired muscles, but rather from an increase in brain temperature.

As a safety valve, the brain sends signals of fatigue that lower our drive to keep going. If forced to continue by an over demanding coach, the downward spiral will continue. If the player does collapse, immediate attention is the key to survival.

"If you cool someone right away, on site, they don't die - period," said Dr. Doug Casa of the University of Connecticut and a national leader in heat-stroke prevention. "The key to surviving heat stroke is getting your temperature (down) to approximately 104 in about 20 minutes."

Please visit my other sports science articles at LiveScience.com

NFL Linemen Trade Health For Super Bowl Rings

When the Arizona Cardinals met the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, every starting offensive lineman was a member of the 300-pound club.

This season, there were more than 600 players — about 20 percent of the league — in triple donuts. Even with 6-foot plus heights, their Body Mass Index (BMI) levels are all in the range of grade 2 obesity, one step below what's called morbid obesity.

This super-sizing of NFL players has accelerated in recent years, and some studies suggest health risks are growing. But studies are conflicting on this point.

And the big question on the minds of coaches and owners: Do heavier players mean more wins? No, says one NFL executive.

Strong vs. fat
The trend towards the ever-expanding football player, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, has accelerated over the last 20 years. From 1920-1984 no more than eight players in the league were over 300 pounds.

The motivation to be bigger comes from the perceived advantages on the field. When Nick Saban, now head coach at Alabama, was drafting players for the Miami Dolphins, he said: "I always say it this way: They have weight classes in boxing for a reason. The heavyweights don't fight the lightweights. What's the reason for that? Because if a big guy is just as good as a little guy, the little guy doesn't have much of a chance."


BMI is a measure of obesity based on a height to weight ratio. Often the apparently risky BMI of large athletes is dismissed because of the percentage of muscle included in their mass. The question becomes whether "big and strong" is any less dangerous than "big and fat."

Last year, Mayo Clinic researchers studied the cardiovascular health of 233 retired NFL players, aged 35-65. They found that in players less than 50 years old, 82 percent had either plaque or carotid narrowing of their arteries greater than the 75th percentile of the population, adjusted for age, sex and race. This condition could lead to a restriction of blood flow causing a heart attack or stroke.

Conflicting results emerged from a University of Texas study later in the year. They compared the health of 201 former NFL players and compared them with the population-based Dallas Heart Study and the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Compared to the control group of men, retired players had a significantly lower prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyles and metabolic syndrome.

"Despite their large body size, retired NFL players do not have a greater prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors nor CAC than community controls," Alice Y. Chang, lead author and assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. "Age and high cholesterol levels, not body size, were the most significant predictors of sub-clinical coronary atherosclerosis among retired NFL players."

Does it matter?
Jackie Buell, director of sports nutrition at Ohio State University, recently released a study focused specifically on players with metabolic syndrome. This condition is characterized by a group of symptoms that include excess fat in the abdominal area, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and elevated levels of triglyceride. Having one or more of these symptoms increases the risk of future heart disease or attacks.

Buell's study measured these factors in 70 current college football linemen. Thirty-four players had at least three risk factors, while eight had four and one had all five risk factors.
"We understand these athletes want to be big, but they can't assume all their weight gain is lean mass just because they're lifting weights and taking protein supplements," Buell said. "The bottom line is we're seeing more and more abdominal obesity. And these findings show that athletes aren't necessarily off the hook when it comes to health risks."

Are the potential health problems worth the risk of garnering a Super Bowl ring?
Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian recently asked that very question to help his NFL draft planning. He compared the winning percentages with the average weight of NFL teams over a recent ten year period. "We found higher weight had no bearing on winning — none," Polian said. "There was a lot of noise about 'big is the answer.' We tested it. It's not valid."

Please visit my other articles on Livescience.com

The Tee Shot Heard Round The World

Did Santa bring you one of those thin-faced titanium, long-distance drivers to put in your golf bag? Did he also leave behind earplugs?

A case study in last month's British Medical Journal warns against the possible damage to a golfer's hearing from the loud "clank" sound made by these clubs when they hit a golf ball.

Dr. Malcolm Buchanan, an ENT specialist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in England, was diagnosing a 55-year old man who came into his clinic complaining of unexplained tinnitus and reduced hearing in his right ear. Their hearing tests confirmed that his symptoms were similar to those experienced after exposure to loud noises.

They ruled out other age-related hearing issues but he did complain about the loud noise his King Cobra LD driver made whenever he teed off. He had been using the club for the last 18 months, playing three times per week.

Buchanan, an avid golfer, had also heard these clubs on local courses and decided to investigate.

In addition to his patient's King Cobra, he gathered five additional titanium-faced drivers, including brands like Callaway, Nike and Ping, along with six stainless-steel faced drivers which represent the previous generation of club heads. Placing a decibel measuring device 5.6 feet away from the club head, the sound levels of each club were recorded as a professional golfer hit three balls per club. The safe limit for these types of impulse noises to the human ear is 110 decibels.

All six titanium drivers produced sounds greater than the safe limit with the Ping G10 topping out at 130 decibels or similar to a gunshot or firecracker. These new generation thin-faced clubs were also louder than all but one of the thicker-faced stainless steel models. See the full results here.
"Our results show that thin-faced titanium drivers may produce sufficient sound to induce temporary or even permanent cochlear damage in susceptible individuals," Buchanan concluded.

Before he can recommend ear protection for all golfers, Buchanan would like to expand his study, by testing the hearing of professional golfers at the 2009 British Open. In the meantime, you can continue to annoy your foursome with not only the sound of your new driver, but the extra yards you'll be walking to get to your tee shot on the fairway.

Please visit my other articles on Livescience.com

Other Golf articles:
Tiger, LeBron, Beckham - Neuromarketing In Action
Better Golf Ball Design Helps You Play Better Golf
Putt With Your Brain - Part 2
Putt With Your Brain - Part 1
Play Better Golf By Playing Bigger Holes