It was only a matter of time before steroids became a problem among high school athletes, and Dr. Garrett J. Lynch, director of the Arthroscopy and Sports Injury Center, says 6 percent to 10 percent of highschool athletes use or have used anabolic steroids.
Lynch's figures are based on national studies conducted by various medical and drug-abuse organizations and from his own experiences giving talks at local high schools and health clubs.
But does that estimate include Anne Arundel high school athletes?
Whether it does or not, and no one is really sure, the fact that steroids could damage an athlete's health is enough to warrant discussion. And as a public service, Lynch is giving a 45-minute presentation to local high school students on steroids and their dangerous effects.
"Steroid use is a very serious problem among competitive power lifters and body builders. More alarming to me, however, is the useof steroids in high school athletes," said Lynch, who has offices inAnnapolis, Severna Park, Crofton and on Kent Island.
"Anabolic steroids are drugs, taken orally or by injection. They are made from either a natural or synthetic derivative of the male hormone testosterone. They are used by athletes to enhance muscular development and increase physical power. Anabolic steroids have muscle building and masculinizing properties."
Some of the negative effects of steroids for men are a decrease in sexual drive, testicle size and sperm count;possible increase in breast size and acne. The conditions are usually reversible.
Teen-age and adult women who use steroids may experience male-pattern baldness, an unusually deeper voice, facial hair and increased clitoris size. Medical studies have shown those effects are irreversible.
In addition, women may experience irregularities in their menstrual cycles, breast size decreases and acne. The good news is that those side effects are normally reversible.
What's really scary are the effects of continued use of steroids over periods of years. High blood pressure, an increased risk of heart failure, chronic liver disease, infertility and even tumors can result from prolonged use and what is called "stacking" steroids.
"Stacking" is thetaking, either intravenously or orally, of extremely high doses in four- to six-week cycles.
The big problem is that steroids work in terms of athletic enhancement. They can increase muscle mass and strength, although no proof exists that they increase aerobic capacity, endurance or athletic performance.
But tell that to big-time power lifters and body builders and track athletes, because all they know is that steroids increase their drive to train hard and their overall aggressiveness.
In 1972 it was determined that 68 percent of the U.S. track and field athletes used steroids at the Munich Olympics. Inthe 1968 Mexico City Olympics, all U.S. weight lifters used or had used steroids, the Olympic Committee found.
Runner Ben Johnson was the most notable athlete at the 1988 Olympics to use the illegal drugs, but it was estimated by U.S. track and field officials that more than 50 percent of the athletes used steroids during the year prior tocompetition but were not caught.
No question steroid use is common and a very serious problem among competitive power lifters and bodybuilders. But among high school athletes?
Severna Park's veteran football coach Andy Borland, who organizes a countywide power liftingcompetition each year, just doesn't see it.
"No, I don't think that's true at all," said Borland, disagreeing with the 6 percent to 10percent estimate. "I have a lot of respect for Dr. Lynch and send myathletes to him, but I don't think steroids are a serious problem atall in our high schools.
"Steroids are strictly for body building, and it would be really difficult for kids to get them. It's not sold in the schools (on the black market) and no reputable physician would give them to teen-agers."
Borland says kids would have to get them at private gyms where a lot of power lifters and body builders hang out. He has no doubt that most big-time power lifters use them, but doesn't believe very many high school athletes do.
Joyce Sabins,department chairwoman of physical education at Northeast High School, agrees with Lynch that the problem may be that serious, but she adds, "It's not necessarily athletes. I think there could be a good number of high school kids who don't take phys ed class but spend a lot of time pumping up in the gym who use steroids. They are looking for that gorgeous body."
So, are there telltale symptoms?
Probably the biggest tip-off is an extraordinary rapid development of muscle mass in a short time. Steroids can be detected by urine testing up to ayear after discontinuing use.
"You would be surprised how easy itis to get them in some of these private gyms," said Sabins.
A fear among coaches and parents is that the kid uneducated about steroidscould end up with phony drugs as well as the dangerous real McCoy.
It was a couple of years ago that Borland discovered a vial in his locker room that baffled him. The bottle had a nipple on it that someone had broken off.
"You break it off and then drink it, and I didn't know what it was, so I called the Pure Food and Drug Commission in D.C. and asked them about it," said Borland who was surprised at his findings. "I was told that it's called Anabolic Quick-Fix and that all it is is sugar, no drugs.
"It was nothing, but it was $2.50 a bottle. Anybody selling it couldn't be charged with selling drugs, but the commission said they could be charged with fraud."
Let's face it, a lot of rip-offs like that are out there, and then there is the more pressing problem -- the real steroids.
"I have to admit that I was ignorant to the extent of the problem that steroids present among body builders and power lifters in Anne Arundel County," said Lynch. "Over the past few years I have been involved with power liftingtournaments here in the county and was the medical director of the National Powerlifting Tournament held in Annapolis in 1989.
"Steroid use is a very serious problem among competitive power lifters and body builders."
Unfortunately, many such competitors are hooked on steroids and have little hope, which is all the more reason to educate our young people so they don't go down the same road to physical destruction.
That is precisely why Lynch is going from school to school and to local health clubs giving his 45-minute slide presentationon the problem. During his talk, Lynch interacts with the participants, fielding questions and comments.
"He gives a good, thorough talk that is worth listening to," said Sabins, who has had Lynch at Northeast High twice to speak to her physical education students.
"Some of his vocabulary was very high for the kids, so after the first talk, we went over some of the terminology and they listened and learned. He's very well-informed on a subject that needs to be addressed because many young people think it's something that will help them later."
Lynch also has spoken to students at Meade and South River high schools and at a number of health clubs. He has talks lined up at several other schools over the next six months.
"I'm trying to schedule him because I've heard he gives an excellent presentation," said Borland.
I think Lynch should be commended for providing such a valuable public service. Making young people aware of the deadly dangers of steroids use, whether there is a problem or not, is more than worthwhile.
Any school or group interested in hearing his presentation can contact him at 268-0861 or 1-800-331-2466. Believe me, thereis nothing to lose and much to gain by doing so.
I've interviewedLynch on radio and for other columns and can tell you that he is extremely well-informed, articulate and most of all caring, especially for young people.
Lynch wrote in a brochure that the only legitimate medical uses for steroids are: "to offset the effects of chemotherapy and radiation in cancer patients, and in treating certain types ofanemia, malnutrition and growth deficiencies."
No short-term use of steroids to build an athlete into one of those mammoth Division I college or NFL-sized lineman is worth it. The health and future of living a normal life is at grave risk when you use steroids to look great today.
What about tomorrow?