Drugs To Bulk Up Muscles May Make Injuries More Likely

[Bouncer]

Block the action of a protein that normally regulates muscle mass, and watch your muscles grow.

That may sound like a good idea to people with muscle-wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy, and to older people, whose muscles naturally get smaller and weaker with age. Drugs that restrict the protein myostatin, which normally prevents muscles from being overly bulky, are currently under study, but not on the market, for some medical conditions.

Such drugs, called myostatin inhibitors, also are stirring interest among body builders and athletes. There are already signs of a nascent black market for what might become another illegal performance-enhancing drug in organized sports.


Full Story: Drugs To Bulk Up Muscles May Make Injuries More Likely

[SonofBone]

Great article. This is similar to AAS to me in that one has to know what they're doing to their system from beginning to end from musculature to the endocrine system.

It is nice to see research looking at the entire picture vs. just how to make a muscle larger. Hopefully, for those who find Myostatin beneficial, they'll have a way to keep their tendons healthy...and whatever else may be in jeopardy.

[Bouncer]

Great article. This is similar to AAS to me in that one has to know what they're doing to their system from beginning to end from musculature to the endocrine system.

It is nice to see research looking at the entire picture vs. just how to make a muscle larger. Hopefully, for those who find Myostatin beneficial, they'll have a way to keep their tendons healthy...and whatever else may be in jeopardy.

i just wonder how much of an effect it really has on tendons. they say steroid use makes for weak tendons also but i have never really seen that to be true.

[alwaysgrowing]

i just wonder how much of an effect it really has on tendons. they say steroid use makes for weak tendons also but i have never really seen that to be true.

i don't beleive it weakens tendons overall strength. I think it is more relative, the muscle grows stronger, more quickly than then tendons due, and therefore the tendons are relatively weaker than what they were before. The lack of blood flow to them slows their development compared to muscle tissue

[SonofBone]

i just wonder how much of an effect it really has on tendons. they say steroid use makes for weak tendons also but i have never really seen that to be true.

It may not be true at all or other studies may find the opposite to be true. However, this stuff is in its infancy, so probably best to err on the side of caution while the guinea pigs figure it all out.

Also, do you think the alleged tendon issue w/AAS could be more of a factor w/professional athletes? Wasn't the injury related sides the biggest reason MLB owners wanted the usage stopped? I don't know...just asking. If that is true (or possibly if it isn't), maybe an athletes tendons would be subjected to potentially more damage on myostatin inhibitors.

[SonofBone]

i don't beleive it weakens tendons overall strength. I think it is more relative, the muscle grows stronger, more quickly than then tendons due, and therefore the tendons are relatively weaker than what they were before. The lack of blood flow to them slows their development compared to muscle tissue

I see what you're saying and it sounds logical, but they didn't say weak or inadequate...they said brittle which sounds more like they're being degraded.

[Bouncer]

I see what you're saying and it sounds logical, but they didn't say weak or inadequate...they said brittle which sounds more like they're being degraded.

yea, and thats what the say about steroids. the problem is, they are never clear in these type of reports. they never say exactly what something means and how they came to that conclusion. it leaves people to draw conclusions.

[SkinnyGuy84]

i think thats the idea, keeps people reading

[Bouncer]

i think thats the idea, keeps people reading

reading what?? nonsense?

[hitmansb]

I'd look at it from the other side of the equation: if these drugs allow you to get bigger muscles while training with lighter weights, wouldn't you be less likely to experience tendon issues (not to mention joint issues)?