Describe how drugs are used to allow athletes to play through injury. (4 marks)
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- Painkillers such as paracetamol reduce the pain from an injury, allowing an athlete to keep training or competing.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen reduce swelling and pain around an injured joint or muscle.
- Some athletes receive injections, such as local anaesthetics or cortisone, to numb or settle an injured area before a match.
- However, pain is a warning signal. Masking it can lead an athlete to keep loading damaged tissue, turning a minor injury into a serious one.
- Overuse of these drugs also carries health risks. Long-term anti-inflammatory use can irritate the stomach and affect the kidneys, and repeated cortisone injections can weaken tendons.
- Because of these risks, anti-doping rules restrict some of these drugs. For example, injecting cortisone and using the painkiller tramadol are both banned during competition.
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- Painkillers such as paracetamol reduce the pain from an injury, allowing an athlete to keep training or competing.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen reduce swelling and pain around an injured joint or muscle.
- Some athletes receive injections, such as local anaesthetics or cortisone, to numb or settle an injured area before a match.
- However, pain is a warning signal. Masking it can lead an athlete to keep loading damaged tissue, turning a minor injury into a serious one.
- Overuse of these drugs also carries health risks. Long-term anti-inflammatory use can irritate the stomach and affect the kidneys, and repeated cortisone injections can weaken tendons.
- Because of these risks, anti-doping rules restrict some of these drugs. For example, injecting cortisone and using the painkiller tramadol are both banned during competition.