Volume 177 - Issue 11
Medicine and sport
Authors: David Isaacs and Dominic Fitzgerald
Med J Aust 2002; 177 (11): 683. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb05018.x
Published online: 9 December 2002
Published online: 9 December 2002
The Olympic Games should be the pinnacle of sporting achievement, a showcase of the highest athleticism that can be reached by men and women. However, at present, it is estimated that only about 50% of sportspeople take advantage of the performance-enhancing medications developed through the wonders of modern science. This pharmacological nihilism is disappointing. If our best unmedicated athletes can achieve similar performances to those whose performances are pharmacologically enhanced, then how much better might they do with the benefit of modern medical science?
What is needed is a level playing field. A fertilised one. We propose that, in future, no athlete should be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games without making maximum use of the miracles of modern medicaments and designer drugs. The Games could then be renamed the Pharmacological Olympic Games. The sponsorship possibilities are infinite.
Rules of performance
All performing athletes will be required to have drug tests at the start and end of competition. Those refusing to provide samples of blood and urine will not be allowed to compete. Any athlete whose samples test negative for performance-enhancing drugs will be sent home in disgrace.
Performance-enhancing drugs
The accepted reference work for the sporting pharmacopoeia is MIMS-Sportif.
Track and field
Homoeopathic principles have always dictated that one treats a fever with hot medicines, and a cold with cold ones. Obviously, one can only expect to improve speed with speed. Amphetamines are de rigueur for the ambitious track-and-field athlete. The walkers, however, may prefer to take Slow K.
A wide range of uppers is available for the high jump and the high hurdles, and long-acting uppers for the long jump.
Cyclists should avoid catching herpes at all costs, because acyclovir can seriously impair their performance.
Anti-inflammatories, such as the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can help cure a slipped discus.
In the pool
Divers may benefit from downers, while antibiotics can help any divers suffering from diverticulitis.
A new range of stroke medication is available for swimmers.
Water polo players will benefit from the new water polio vaccine.
Demonstration sports
Demonstration sports are sports favoured by the host country that may become a regular fixture in future Olympics. A demonstration sport with exciting pharmacoathletic possibilities is the dramatic Irish sport of hurling, which can be spectacularly enhanced by the judicious use of ipecacuanha.