TheAgitator.com
The Case for HGH
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008ESPN investigative reporter Tom Farrey surveys the medical literature, and finds that HGH may help NFL players with pituitary damage caused by concussions and other head injuries, which can be progressively debilitating, even after a player retires. Unfortunately, anti-PED hysteria will likely prevent the league from allowing HGH to be used as treatment in these cases—at least legitimately:
The league is in a precarious situation. Even if it were willing to test for deficiencies, the fact remains that the medically accepted therapy calls for hormones that have been banned. To complicate matters further, head trauma isn’t the only way to wreck a pituitary. Taking high amounts of steroids can shut down the natural production of hormones as well, at least temporarily. Understandably, the NFL doesn’t want to create a scenario in which drug-abusing players who show a hormone deficiency are rewarded.
Consider the implications of this passage for a sec. The league has banned HGH (on very little evidence), allegedly to protect its players from the harm it allegedly does to their health. But the game of football itself is causing debilitating, potentially life-threatening injuries to players, and we think little of it. These injuries are the entirely predictable result of the slobber-knocking hits that make the game so much fun to watch, both live, and from the six different angles in various highlight packages on SportsCenter.
So we’re okay with trusting players to take the risks to their health that come with actually playing football. But we draw the line at letting them use artificial drugs to help them recover more quickly from those injuries. Because that might be dangerous. Or it might benefit players who are using PED’s for non-medical purposes.
As Farrey explains, the good news is that the underground labs are miles ahead of testing technology. So most of the league is getting treatment anyway. It’s just too bad that players have to protect their own health on the sly, and that the people who treat them risk their careers, and possibly their freedom.
Sylvester Stallone is in the current issue of Time magazine. He mentions that HGH has been outstanding in giving a better quality of life in his advancing years. He’s 61 now. The guy is in outstanding condition. He feels that all this negativity toward HGH will pass and in 10 years its use will be commonplace. Something to think about…
I have never understood the logic of the drug warriors on this one; they make special examples of athletes who use drugs, publicly spanking them. They say it is because the athletes are heroes to many young people, and they must set a good example. The question that always comes to my mind is; If the drugs are so bad for you and make you perform more poorly, how is it that professional athletes are able to maintain their athleticism while using them? The fact that they use drugs and are at the top of their game tells all. The authorities and MSM have no cred.
I agree with Sly, sometime in the near future it will be determined that HGH will allow all of us to lead better lives and will be componplace. Why is it that guvmint officials always like to ban things that they have no idea about.