Chinese Medicine has been using different animal products for thousands of years. Deer antlers, or Lu Rong, have been used for knee pain, back pain, and other musculoskeletal problems. In Western Medicine the deer antler velvet has been used as a growth hormone for children with stated growth because it con taints insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). According to an orthopedic surgeon and founder of NY Bone and Joint in Manhattan, Leon Popovitz, there is preliminary research suggesting that deer antler velvet is useful in healing soft tissue injuries.
WebMD lists a number of conditions other than enhanced athletic performance:
In children, deer velvet is used as a tonic for children with “failure to thrive,” mental retardation, learning disabilities, slow growth, or bone problems including rickets.
In herbal combinations, deer velvet is used to improve athletic performance; to improve eyesight and hearing; to reduce stress; and to treat arthritis, osteoporosis, “tired blood” (anemia), women’s reproductive disorders including premenstrual syndrome (PMS), ED, and skin conditions. Herbal combinations including deer velvet are also used to increase blood circulation to the brain and to delay or reduce signs of aging such as tissue, bone, and muscle degeneration, and declining mental skills.
CNN reports on deer antler spray “giving athletes an edge“.
The use of Chinese Herbs in the Western world isn’t a new concept. When ephedra hit the athletic community in the early 90s it became a controlled and banned substance because it was used as a performance enhancing substance to “speed of the metabolism”. Traditionally, ephedra was used to treat the common cold. Ephedra’s modern application was abused and taken in much higher doses than the traditional prescriptions.
The Baltimore Ravens linebacker, Ray Lewis, has been accused of using deer antler nasal spray for injury rehabilitation.
Where do we draw the line in what is a banned substance? The therapeutic application of ephedra as a performance enhancer was misused and consequently cost the lives of over a hundred individuals.
Deer Antler Velvet, or Lu Rong, is actually being used correctly in this particular application, however. Athletes suffer repeated and serious soft tissue injuries, shouldn’t they be allowed to heal their bodies? What are your thoughts?
