Alden Gonzalez: Madson wonders whether HGH could help

[AngelsWin.com]

Rehabbing Angels reliever Ryan Madson just wants to pitch again. And that got him thinking out loud on Tuesday, pondering something taboo, whether Human Growth Hormone -- an illegal and banned substance -- if allowed, could expedite his return to the mound and help him live up to his contract.

View the full article

[Angels Never Die]

It's ridiculous that you can't even use it therapeutically.

[Homebrewer]

It's ridiculous that you can't even use it therapeutically.

Without steroids many people having knee, hip, and other serious joint surgery would never recover.

[tomsred]

Probably with Madson if he took it his left leg would harden and fall off.

[HaloMagic]

It's ridiculous that you can't use it at all. It's not a performance enhancer. It's a performance allower. It lets players recover from minor injuries and helps promote muscular and ligament elasticity. It keeps them on the field so they can keep doing what they are paid to do. If they sucks, they'll still suck. If they're weak, they'll remain weak. It works nothing like steroids but it has the same reputation. It's a shame.

[Docwaukee]

It's ridiculous that you can't use it at all. It's not a performance enhancer. It's a performance allower. It lets players recover from minor injuries and helps promote muscular and ligament elasticity. It keeps them on the field so they can keep doing what they are paid to do. If they sucks, they'll still suck. If they're weak, they'll remain weak. It works nothing like steroids but it has the same reputation. It's a shame.

it decreases recovery time allowing for the ability to increase muscle growth at a more rapid rate.  Hence, performance enhancing.  It's intended us is for those with a deficiency and not to hasten the normal recovery process.  It unlevels the playing field. 

 

trying to police the situations in which it could be allowable would be a nightmare. An overproduction leads to acromegaly which causes a number of health problems. 

 

Any sports association that allowed it use would put itself at tremendous risk for future liability. 

[Brandon]

Yeah, I don't get the it's not a performance enhancer post. I know dudes that use it personally or just dudes at the gym and it's very clear what the effects are.

[HaloMagic]

it decreases recovery time allowing for the ability to increase muscle growth at a more rapid rate. Hence, performance enhancing. It's intended us is for those with a deficiency and not to hasten the normal recovery process. It unlevels the playing field.

trying to police the situations in which it could be allowable would be a nightmare. An overproduction leads to acromegaly which causes a number of health problems.

Any sports association that allowed it use would put itself at tremendous risk for future liability.

Many allowed supplements decrease recovery time. That isn't something unique to HGH and steroids. It doesn't help in the same way that steroids do in terms of muscle production. The only effect on muscles is increased elasticity (good) and water retention (bad). It doesn't allow people to work out muscles longer like anabolic steroids. The difference in effects between those two things is huge. Unlevel playing field is BS. It's only unlevel if others decide not to use it. Just like it's already unlevel for players who don't keep to a healthy diet. Or a player like Hamilton who sucks balls but doesn't do anything to improve his game. It's all unlevel for him since others work constantly to improve.

Agreed on policing use. I don't think they should. Agreed on overuse. It's not good. I'm not concerned. If players were allowed to use something without going to back alley doctors they'd stand a much better shot at not abusing it. There would probably be less abuse if it were made legal than there is now.

Agreed on your last point. And I think that's a shame that people make choices for themselves and then find it so easy to blame others. The league wouldn't be making anyone use it.

Obviously it won't be made legal. But for the effects that it has I would have absolutely no problem with it.

[Ray McKigney]

So, why do they not allow it for players recovering from injury?

[Broad Street]

Just do it already to heal, take the 50 game suspension. You're useless to us this year anyways.