Recently, former Liverpool and England Goalkeeper, Chris Kirkland, told his story about his addiction to the painkiller Tramadol. His addiction led to a suicide attempt after experiencing hallucinations and anxiety.
What is Tramadol?
Tramadol is a strong painkiller from a group of medicines called opiates. Tramadol can cause drowsiness, nausea, and low blood pressure. Severe side effects include audio and visual hallucinations, and problems urinating.
An individual who suddenly stops taking tramadol will suffer withdrawal symptoms, including feeling anxious, agitated, shaky, and sweaty.
The maximum daily dose prescribed in the UK is 400 milligrams. Taking too much can cause breathing problems, fever and sweats, muscle twitches, agitation and confusion. The NHS highlight that the overdose amount is different for everyone, and if someone shows these signs (whatever the dose taken) they should seek immediate medical attention.
Tramadol is a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 and is only available on prescription.
Chris’s journey with Tramadol
Chris began using Tramadol following a back injury whilst playing football. As his body became tolerant to the drug, he started to take a much higher dose than prescribed. By obtaining tablets from the internet and his doctor, he would take 1,000-2,500 milligrams daily. He continued playing professional football, whilst undergoing regular drug tests. However, issues of his drug use were never raised, as Tramadol was not on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited substance list. He hid his addiction from his family, often meeting the postman on his way out to training. His wife learned about his addiction after receiving a phone call from a broken Chris after he attempted to jump from a roof whilst playing abroad. Thankfully, Chris was able to get help for detoxing in the UK, but he relapsed a few months later. He has since stopped taking Tramadol after a second detox.
The issue with Tramadol in Sport
Tramadol should only be used under the correct medical guidance, to treat moderate to severe pain when other methods do not work. Despite this, Tramadol use appears to be the norm in some sports to help players/athletes push through the pain.
Jonathon Tiernan-Locke, a professional cyclist, explained ‘Pain has a negative effect on performance and is a contributor to the sensation of fatigue. Increasing an individual’s pain tolerance has the potential to be performance enhancing’ (UKAD pushing for blanket ban on drug used by Wiggins | Cyclingnews)
UK Anti-Doping Agency, US Anti-Doping Agency, and Movement of Credible Cycling (MPCC) are among those calling on World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to prohibit Tramadol. As of 2016, the MPCC has raised concerns about this drug, including its harmful effects on athletes’ health and those around them. The risk of a race crash increases when Tramadol affects a rider’s concentration and causes drowsiness.
Moving Forward
Since March 2019, the World Governing Body for Sports Cycling (UCI) has banned Tramadol in competition across all disciplines. Drug testing for Tramadol will occur in UCI led competitions. If found positive, the athlete will currently not face an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), as it is not on WADA’s prohibited list, but they will have to follow the rules and regulations governing the UCI.
Football Associations are still following the WADA guidelines. WADA continues to keep Tramadol on its Watch ‘Monitoring’ list.
We hope that the trend of using Tramadol outside of medical guidelines will not occur at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, for the fairness of sport and most importantly, for the care of the individual athlete, so that no one will suffer the heartbreak Chris Kirkland has experienced.