Are steroids, protein powders building muscle but damaging your hip bone? What young gym goers need to know

Can arbitrary use of gym steroids and protein powders damage the hip bone permanently? Orthopaedic experts are seeing hip bone damage and degeneration of the kind associated with the elderly among young people in their 20s, who may be picking up performance enhancers from gyms.

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Recently, the Maharashtra FDA also launched statewide checks on protein powders after several brands were found to be spiked with performance-enhancing steroids, many of which are freely available online or at gyms without proper labelling or approvals. According to Dr Gaurav Prakash Bhardwaj, Director, Sports Injury, Joint Preservation and Replacement Surgery, PSRI hospital, “Steroid use is one of the most well-documented causes of Avascular Necrosis (AVN), a condition where bone tissue dies because of lack of blood supply. When taken in high doses or over a long period, especially without medical need, steroids can interfere with the blood supply to the bone.”

What kind of hip-related complaints are you seeing among young patients?