Painkillers In Sports

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Just One More Dose
The use of illegal substances by athletes has drastically increased in the past years. In effect, this has lead to numerous deaths from high school, college, and pro-athletes. Illegal substance use in sports is something that is recent and controversial. In the last couple years, football players of all ages and other athletes have died due to the use of distinct substances, mainly ephedrine. Recently, during the summer of 2016, University of Arizona's offensive lineman, Zach Hemmila, passed away in his sleep. Zach, who was an honor roll student in high school and a sharp individual, was introduced to painkillers when he injured his leg his junior year of college football; given by the team doctor. After relying on the painkillers …show more content…
Not only is it the pain that people have to deal with, but also what could have been done to prevent this tragedy. The use of drugs is a major setback for anyone, but for athletes, it can end their career too fast. The process begins with team doctors who start athletes on painkillers when injured and has an enormous impact on an athlete's addiction. The abuse of painkillers in athletes affects their life tremendously introducing them to other substances, reducing athletic performance, and becoming an addict.
In past years, Oxycontin and Vicodin were known to provide for patients with cancer or to help patients with pain after surgery. Now, painkillers are in arm's reach for athletes and people who do not need them. Athletes are known to take painkillers when they are feeling a little pain after a practice or a game and want to continue through the season or get high. Painkillers are the top five leading causes of death since 2016 and have killed around "17,000 Americans annually, and caused addiction for several hundred thousands of American's," (CDC). There are plenty examples of athletes that have experienced the switch from painkillers to illegal substances, such as heroin. Roman Montano, who started baseball when he was young, started in …show more content…
Also, they tend to abuse their roles to our athletes when prescribing painkillers and to harm our athletes to outside sources (illegal substances). The majority of our athletes become introduced to painkillers from their team doctor. It is easier for a team doctor to prescribe an athlete 15 Vicodin, to take when needed as they are feeling pain than to tell the athlete they should be on the injured list for a few weeks. People blindside that this is the start of athletes addiction. Team doctors are quick to prescribe athletes a painkiller for fast and easy relief, but there are other options besides prescribing them an active substance. A doctor could easily prescribe the athlete to weeks of physical therapy or off-time of the sport. The Washington University School of Medicine surveyed that more than fifty percent of our athletes have access to painkillers during their season (Jenkins and Rick). Another reason team doctors are so easy to prescribe painkillers is for job security and not be an inconvenience to the teammates or coaching staff. It is the physician's diagnosis that the coaches rely on and hold their jobs on the line. So, whether it be good or bad news, the doctor will do anything for the coaches to hear what they want to hear. One in four players has felt pressured by team doctors to take
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