Declaration of analgesics on Doping Control Forms in german football leagues during five seasons

Abstract

Problem: The use of analgesics in sport has been the subject of numerous studies and surveys among athletes for years. This evaluation was targeted at providing the first evaluation of analgesics declared on Doping Control Forms (DCF) from football players in the highest German leagues, the Cup, and the A and B Juniors’ Bundesliga. Methods: The evaluation included a total of 8,344 DCF from doping controls performed by the National Anti Doping Agency Germany in the five football seasons from 2015/16 to 2019/20. This included both in-competition and out-of-competition doping controls in the Bundesliga, 2nd Bundesliga, 3rd League, Women’s Bundesliga, A and B Juniors’ Bundesliga, and the Cup. Results: On average, 33% of all DCF from the last five seasons of the adult and junior sector of the top football leagues in Germany declared use of analgesics within the seven days preceding testing. The A and B Juniors’ Bundesliga has significantly lower values, at an average of 14% ibuprofen was the most commonly reported among 14 analgesic active substances, across all leagues and seasons. Discussion: Some of the analgesic active substances recorded are used for self-medication, while others are prescription drugs. They are not considered doping substances under the current rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). However, the calculated frequency of their use suggests that further scientific surveys in competitive sport should be initiated, e.g. via the WADA Monitoring Program. Since analgesics have a general potential for abuse, continuous information of athletes, supported by the sports environment, concerning the deliberate use of such medications is required. Key Words: National Anti Doping Agency,Painkillers, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, Bundesliga

Theorising painkiller (mis)use in football using Bourdieu's practice theory and physical capital

“…At the 2018 men's World Cup, 40% of players used NSAIDs at some point during the tournament while 17% used other forms of analgesics (Oester et al, 2019). At a national elite level, data from the German Bundesliga found that 32% of in-competition doping control forms declared the use of some form of analgesic with the NSAID, ibuprofen, being the most frequently reported (Trinks et al, 2021). Evidently, NSAIDs are commonly used and readily available to players from team medical staff and carry significant side effects if misused.…”

“…NSAIDs legal status means players may also purchase and consume these privately (Cunningham, 2018; Mundie and Jurejko, 2017). Recent evidence indicates that painkiller misuse exists in professional, lower-league, junior, and women's football (Babwah, 2014; Correctiv, 2020; Trinks et al, 2021; Tscholl et al, 2015). To be clear, there are legitimate reasons for painkiller use and not all players taking painkillers are misusing them.…”

Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period

“…Using information about self-declared use of pharmaceuticals from DCFs is nothing new and has been used in several other studies ( 10 , 54 , 55 ). However, in the present study, the ATC system was used for classification of the pharmaceuticals.…”