BIG MUSCLES, BIG TROUBLE:

Steroids and dietary supplements popular with teens can carry long-term risks
BY BILL DOW
FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER

As the owner of the Training Room, a physical rehabilitation and workout
facility with locations in Troy and Trenton, John Wharton has seen it far too
often: teenagers in rehab with ruptured quadricep tendons and other injuries
normally found in older people and bodybuilders.

"I know kids are training harder these days, but I suspect that the use of
performance-enhancing supplements and steroids is probably a factor in a growing
number of these injuries," says Wharton, former head trainer for the Detroit Red
Wings.

According to experts, anabolic steroids and dietary supplements bought over the
counter, including creatine, ephedra and androstenedione (andro), provide
greater energy and faster recovery time during a weight-lifting workout. That
results in larger muscle mass in a shorter period of time.
But the substances also may increase the chance of injury and may have
detrimental effects on long-term health. Click here to read the entire article.