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Sports medicine and chemistry

Chemists have helped the sporting industry also by making medicines that help althetes and spectators.  From aspirin to help a headache to polychloroprene sleeves to provide warmth and compression to promote the healing of wounds.  Here is a website that has descriptions of many sports medicine and health products.

Banned substances and doping are common words in the English language today.  Why is this?  It is because of chemists.  Olympic athletes are commonly given drug tests to test for illegal substances.  Some chemists are helping to make these substances, and some are helping to test for these substances as well. 

Some of these banned substances were originally developed for helpful purposes.  Such as Human Growth Hormone (HGH), this was originally developed for children who have metabolic growth disorders.  This is no wonder drug, and THIS DRUG IS NOT APPROVED BY ANY SPORTS ORGANIZATION!

The NSF (National Science Foundation) is starting a list of supplements that do not contain any of the banned ingredients of the sports organizations.  Here is an article from NSF about this project, and here is a list of the approved supplements so far found.  On this list will be products and companies that have complied with NSF's testing procedures.

What do you think of chemists contributions to the sporting medicine industry?  Has it been a positive one or a negative one?  If you have any comments or questions please make a comment.

Posted at 04:14PM Jul 26, 2006 by CHRISTIAN, CAROLINE in Chemistry and sports  |  Comments[10]