Athletes and Pain: An Emerging Problem

There was an excellent expose about NFL pro football players, published in the Tampa Tribune (Dec. 30-31, 2007). Retired players appear to be hit particularly hard. They become dependant on medications to mask the effect from injuries during their careers, and the cycle begins anew after retirement when they often face a daily battle against pain.

The strength of pain medicine such as Vicodin and OxyContin, combined with large doses many former players use, has long-term heath implications. Extended use can damage the liver and kidneys, and there can be emotional repercussions as well. "Many athletes develop severe depression. They feel the best thing is to die. No one talks about it so they feel they're the only person in the world with this problem." says Alex Stalcup, an addiction treatment specialist in California.

Former St. Louis Cardinals guard Conrad Dobbler, who played in the 1970s and early '80s and said he uses pain medication to combat the effects of multiple surgeries, was even more direct about the cycle of drug use in the league. Now 57, Dobbler admits he has battled post-retirement drug problems to combat the effect of 17 surgeries - including 5 knee replacements - since his playing career ended. "If you put down 50 former players, I  might know one who isn't on drugs," Dobbler said. Of course you get hooked on it. With Vicodin, I used to take that by the handfuls, for seven or eight years before I began to wean myself off them. Was I addicted to it? Yeah, I probably was. I was taking three or four thousand Vicodin a year, with OxyContinin between. The more you take, the more resistance you build up. To me it was just candy in the end. Could I have functioned without the drugs? No".

There are a tremendous number of people who can't function without pain medications. Of course, the NFL doesn't want to hear that. It opens up real big liability issues for them, " say former players.

The problem is, some of those people have continuing pain issues. They get set up in two ways. First, they get taken off the opiates way too fast; it leaving a giant hole in their nervous system. That's called clean. But they can't sleep, they are psychologically negative, and they hurt. So what do they do? That's when they need professional help to manage their pain.

The full effect of their injuries sometimes isn't felt until they are out of the game for a decade or more. By that time, getting assistance from the NFL, they say, is difficult at best. That assumes they bother to seek help at all.

Because the NFL is so competitive and the money is what it is, the pressure is there to keep playing no matter what, claim former players.

Former player Kamal Ali Salaam-El says, "I have lived in chronic pain for the last 26 years. When a person is in pain, you'll do whatever you have to do. And if this doesn't change soon, these guys who are playing now are going to find themselves right where we are. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."     

The NFL conducts an annual audit of pain medication prescribed by team doctors and requires the league's health insurer to audit prescription medication claims by players. If the painkillers show up during regular drug tests given to the players, it can raise a red flag that will cause the league to monitor the players more closely.

Since the players have brief careers, and a high risk of trauma, they'll take as much dope as they need to carry on their careers.

The abuse of pain medication isn't confined to pro football players. Local law enforcement officials say they see the problem throughout society, and the American Medical Association estimates that 10% of Americans are dealing with chronic pain.

The Indiana University Center for Sports Medicine says they are seeing more intense training for an athlete than they have ever seen in the past. "Many people who excel in sports today have participated in that sport since they were a small child. You see the tennis players today, baseball pitchers, and pro football players. If you continually stress certain parts of the body without giving them relief, you'll probably wear out that particular part of the body, says Douglas McKeag.