In the desire to win, student athletes are increasingly turning to steroids to enhance their performance. R. Robert Franks, DO, a sports medicine and medical orthopaedics specialist at the Cooper Bone and Joint Institute, highlighted the scope of steroid use among adolescents and suggested ways to address the problem in the cover story of the summer issue of The Journal, published by the New Jersey Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons [NJAOPS]. The article is being used to orient members of the state’s first task force on adolescent steroid use, which Acting Governor Richard J. Codey commissioned in July 2005. Dr. Franks has also been named an NJAOPS advisor to the task force.
“Steroid use is on the rise among adolescents. Due to increased competition in today’s high school sports, many student athletes use substances to enhance athletic performance, to keep up with their peers who are using them, to emulate their professional heroes, or to achieve a certain body image,” said Dr. Franks.
Steroid use among high school students rose through the 1990s, according to the Monitoring the Future Study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. In the 2004 survey, researchers reported that 2.5 percent of 12th graders, 1.5 percent of 10th graders, and 1 percent of 8th graders used steroids in the past year. Although most steroid users are male, steroid use among female athletes has been increasing.
Steroid abuse can cause hypertension, stroke, liver toxicity / cancer, and sexual dysfunction. In adolescents, steroid abuse can cause stunted growth as well.
New Jersey is the first state to study the scope of the steroid problem, which Acting Governor Codey called “an emergent public health crisis,” and attempt to develop a statewide policy. The 18-member task force includes Sports Illustrated writer Peter King; Rider University athletic trainer Timothy Lengle; orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Timothy Hosea; and Lisa Brady, a school administrator who helped develop one of the first student drug testing policies in the country.
“I applaud Governor Cody for having the foresight to take the lead on a state level to investigate and address the use of these substances among New Jersey’s youth. New Jersey has proven to be a leader in addressing sports medicine issues that affect the national consciousness,” said Dr. Franks.
Dr. Franks works in sports medicine primarily with adolescent athletes. He is the team physician for Haddon Township High School and Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, PA., where he cares for members of all
athletic teams,
For more information about the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute or to make an appointment with a Cooper University Hospital physician at an office near you, please call 1-800-8-COOPER to speak with a member of our physician referral and information service.