Painkillers, the dark side of sports

"It's not that they're resistant," Amos said. "It's like they do not know what is going on."

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said he would be surprised that any athletic program would not be aware of the potential for problems. While it would be irresponsible to ignore it, just because they're not bringing in speakers doesn't mean it's not being addressed, he said. BYU, he added, prefers to handle those presentations itself to save money and to manage the content.

Longtime Utah State University athletic trainer Dale Mildenberger doesn't see painkiller abuse as much of an issue.

"If your approach is athletes are different, you'd be incorrect. Prescription drug abuse is a societal problem," he said.

In 2003, approximately 15 million Americans reported using a prescription drug for non-medical reasons at least once during the year. Rates of abuse were highest in the 18-to-25 age group, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Pain relievers were the most commonly misused drug.

Monitoring meds

In 33 years at USU, Mildenberger said, he recalls a half dozen players becoming addicted to pain pills. He concedes there are probably others he doesn't know about.

Former University of Utah defensive end Jason Kaufusi said it wasn't unusual for ailing teammates to seek pain medication beyond what was given.

"There was a constant trying to find more, take more than what was prescribed," he said.

Chronic shoulder injuries that required multiple surgeries cut Kaufusi's college career short. Many of his days were spent in a doctor's office, physical therapy or the training room.

Shots of Toradol before and during games kept him on the field. He tried to avoid painkillers between games, but sometimes his shoulders hurt too much.

"I didn't want to get addicted. At one point during my junior year, I was always constantly looking for something because you just want some relief, even a minute of relief," he said. "Once I noticed I was doing that I just kept telling myself to stay away from it."

Kaufusi didn't become addicted but said he can see how people who ache all the time could.

U. team physician Amy Powell said it's "pretty darn rare" for athletes to get hooked on pain pills.

Doctors say they closely monitor players' prescriptions. Very few injuries require more than about two weeks worth of narcotics. It's not impossible, she said, but it is difficult for a player to fall through the cracks.

"We are aware of who's on what meds," said University of Utah head athletic trainer Bill Bean.

Illicit sources