Steven Horwitz, D.C.

Is your child using steroids? Here is what experts say to look for:

1. Large gain of muscle mass over a short period of time (20lbs. of muscle gained over a summer by a high school athlete is usually not the result of weight training alone).
2. Increased time spent in the gym and a preoccupation with weight training
3. Dramatic changes in personality (moodiness, aggression, and hostility etc.)
4. Abnormally large breasts in males (gynecomastia)
5. Stretch marks (cultaneous striae), especially around the breast area
6. Increased acne, especially on the back, face, and chest
7. Facial puffiness due to water retention
8. Needle marks on the buttocks
9. Increased blood pressure and heart rate
10. Reference to steroids in conversation (some of the slang words for steroids include "roids," "juice," "sauce," "slop," "product" and "vitamins").

Anabolic steroids - more properly termed anabolic-androgenic steroids - are synthetic derivatives of testosterone - the hormone that makes a man a man.

Women and girls are more
prone to ACL injuries than men and boys but the risk can be reduced if athletes perform warm-up, stretching, strengthening, plyometric, and sport-specific agility exercises before sports.

According to a 1999 National Institute of Drug Abuse survey, steroid use among students is now at its highest point in a decade, with an estimated 479,000 students nationwide, or 2.9 percent, having used the drug by their senior year of high school.