Mark McGwire – Steroids and a Medicated Society

I am a baseball nut. As a kid growing up in the 80s I was more interested in batting averages, homeruns and stolen bases than a typical adolescent. I spent my off hours at the batting cage with dreams of major league glory. I studied everyone from Babe Ruth and Ted Williams to Mark McGwire. I still remember collecting the 1984 Olympic team’s baseball cards when Cory Snyder and Mark McGuire were the future sluggers of baseball. Now comes the not so surprising admission that Mark McGwire used steroids. I have loved the game of baseball for years and we all know of cheating that has occurred from spit balls, corked bats and now steroids and HGH. While I won’t give an opinion on what he did I can give an opinion on the reasons he states he took steroids. As we now know Mark McGwire has stated that he took steroids as a result of years of injuries. He states that he was told that they would help him heal faster and that is why he took them.

Now how does this relate to safety, negligence and personal injury law? I think it’s quite simple. Our society has become too inundated with Viagra commercials and other suspect “advice” on mediations over the years. You can’t watch a baseball, football or basketball game without a plethora of ads for X,Y and Z drugs. In fact, my wife cannot watch her favorite channel “Lifetime” without seeing commercials relating to drugs for women.

With all these medications floating around for our various ailments we have forgotten the importance of therapeutic modalities such as physical therapy and chiropractic treatments. We would rather numb the pain than rehabilitate it. Take for example an individual hurt in a car wreck. I have seen many instances where a doctor will prescribe muscle relaxors and pain medication but will not recommend physical therapy for the soft tissue injuries. This line of thinking seems to be predicated by insurance company’s stealth tactics of implying that people who seek chiropractic or physical therapy treatments for soft tissue injuries are simply trying to make a “quick buck.” Nothing could be further from the truth. These modalities address the underlying problem rather than just masking it.

So next time you go to your doctor don’t just ask for a magic little pill. Ask about the pros and cons of various treatment options for whatever condition you might be suffering from.