Painkillers By Athletes

It just takes one hit, one cut to the basket, or one slide into home to cause an injury that requires therapy or surgery, “athletic life may lead to drug abuse for a number of reasons including, mental illness, to deal with stressors, injuries, and physical pain” (Reardron). Athletes will do anything to keep themselves in the game; this can lead to the overprescribing of painkillers. Athletes will become dependent on these drugs for relief which will lead to addiction. When athletes take these painkillers, the drugs are affecting their body in certain ways. Use of painkillers by athletes of all levels needs to be more closely monitored and regulated.
Some physicians are quick to prescribe pain medication to athletes for most types of pain,
An overdose is when someone takes more of the prescription painkiller than the body can handle. If an athlete is taking the prescription drug oxycodone a slight overdose may include symptoms of being sleepy and your pupils will become smaller. If an athlete were to overdose a lot on oxycodone they may slip into unconsciousness. With a bad overdose the oxycodone may effect your breathing, causing it to slow down and even stop it. Oxycodone not only relieves pain but it is also a depressor. So if an athlete takes way to much of the drug is could stop their breathing while they are unconscious causing them to die. Health issues can occur when an athlete overdoses on prescription painkillers, “there is the fact that the brain of a teenager is not yet fully developed, and is vulnerable to changes caused by drug use” (Survey). Opioids can cause a decrease in cognitive function, which is the ability to comprehend materials, speaking, and the ability to learn new information.
When an athlete has overdosed they will most likely enter rehab to try and become drug free. Most people have a misconception about rehab, there’s no locking you in a place to keep you there. You can walk out of rehab whenever you want, no one can stop you. The reason there is no locks on the doors is because the rehab process is only going to be effective if you are willing to try and quit the addiction. Rehab centers aren’t there to help you quit the addiction, but to help you deal with the withdrawals of the