Different types of drugs are used in sport either for therapeutic or for performance enhancement purposes. The therapeutic use of drugs is considered legitimate and is part of common medical practice in sport settings (through the use of Therapeutic Use Exemption
scheme), whereas the latter represents doping, an illegitimate practice that threatens the integrity and public image of sports and the athlete’s health and well-being. Painkillers are widely used in sports to treat injuries and muscle strain and can be either prescribed and administered
by sport physicians or self-administered by athletes. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) represent the most common type of drugs used to treat sport-related injuries, and although they provide an effective treatment, their prolonged use or misuse may negatively impact the
recovery process and lead to adverse effects on the gastrointestin at tract, the kidneys, and the liver (Matava, 2016; Tscholl, Vaso, Weber, & Dvorak, 2015). According to evidence from the FIFA World Cups between 2002 and 2014, up to one third of football players used medication
prior to every match even if they did not take the field, with NSAIDs being the most commonly used drugs (Tscholl et al., 2015). A certain group of drugs and substances are prohibited in sports, and their use is controlled by the World Antidoping Agency (WADA) and other sport organizations that have endorsed the WADA’s Antidoping Code. Those drugs include substances with an ergogenic effect on sport performance and those
used for recreational purposes. Prohibited substances are so defined because their use is assumed to have severe side effects on health and provide an unfair competitive advantage to the user. Ergogenic substances involve anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), also known as ‘steroids; peptide hormones (e.g., erythropoietin or EPO) and growth factors (e.g., Human Growth Hormone), beta-2 agonists, and stimulants (e.g., modafinil), which are thought to produce increased strength and muscle size, unnaturally reduced body fat, and greater production of red cells in the blood. With respect to recreational drugs (e.g., alcohol and illicit drugs), there is currently no consensus about their ergogenic properties, but WADA includes cannabinoids and narcotics in the prohibited substances list (Waddington, Christiansen, Gleaves, Hoberman, & Møller, 2013). A recent review of the literature showed that athletes reported higher levels of alcohol use during noncompetition time as compared to general population, and that self-reported use of illicit drugs was rather low (. 10%), but tended to be considerably higher among athletes who knew other athletes using illicit recreational drugs (Rice et al., 2016). Given their effects on mood, recreational drugs, such as narcotics, can be used to alleviate negative emotions, psychological stress, and performance anxiety (Lazuras & Barkoukis, 2014).
