The appropriateness of hgh in sports using basketball as an example
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Injections of human growth hormone are banned in sports. On the one hand, it may seem natural, because the effect of such drugs directly affects the physical condition and sports results of the athlete. On the other hand, everything is not so clear-cut and it is high time for sports officials to reconsider the use of drugs such as somatotropin injections.
NBA case
The experience of the NBA, the strongest professional basketball league in the world, is a good example of the dilemma. The effects of HGH fit basketball players like no other. Active participation in competition at such a level requires a high level of endurance throughout the season. Prior to the 2010s, there was no strict doping code in the league. Over time, NBA executives saw this as a necessity and in 2011 strict regulations came into effect.
According to the official information, basketball players are subjected to three mandatory doping tests throughout the year. Two of them are done during the playing portion of the season and one more test is taken in the offseason. The consecutive detection of one, two and three positive samples in an athlete results in suspension for 20 games, 45 games and full ban from the league.
This approach has been implemented to make the tests more accurate. The fact is that failing a traditional direct test for growth hormone can be, would you not believe, a challenge. There are many techniques of using the drug that help circumvent the requirements of the test. The point is to directly detect traces of banned substances. Seasonal tests help identify fluctuations in blood composition that indirectly point to the subject of a violation.
In other words, the last 10 years have made it much more difficult for top-level athletes in basketball. Although the NBA makes catchphrases like "every basketball player should be at a comfortable playing level without the need to peak," the thirst for results takes its toll.
Why is the use of hgh can be positive for professional sportsmen?
And is the use of somatotropin detrimental? As we know, the proper use of this drug is not detrimental to human health. Apart from increasing the muscles and other hgh bodybuilding purposes, it has an important athletic effect. The growth hormone helps not only to increase physical performance, but also to recover from injuries and micro-traumas during the season, as well as to prolong active career at the proper level.
This is a compromise that one prefers to overlook. At the same time, the undeniable increase in the intensity and difficulty of the workload, and the tightening of the playing schedule (due largely to commercial reasons) in NBA-level competition forces athletes to squeeze more and more out of themselves. Which hurts more, overexertion or somatotropin injections? The question remains open… But hgh price for use in not so obvious.