Pharmacological correction is focused on the improvement of athletes’ physical work capacity and their adaptation to increased physical and psycho emotional loads. The tasks of sports pharmacology in sport and in the Olympic sport, in particular, are: correction of metabolic disorders to maintain and improve athletes’ physical work capacity; increase of the body adaptation stability and immunological resistance to the action of intensive and prolonged physical loads and psychological tension; improvement of adaptation to climate and time zone change, i.e., jetlag prevention and correction; optimization of the recovery processes after loads of different direction, volume and intensity; prevention of overexertion and pathological states related to the impact of physical loads. This range of tasks necessitates the usage of a great number of pharmacological aids influencing various components of metabolism in athlete’s body. It should be noted that any pharmacological aids which should improve physical work capacity and optimize the recovery processes may be insufficiently effective or inefficient at all in the presence of sub clinically occurring pre-pathological states and diseases as well as in the absence of adequate dosage of physical loads. While using various means of sports activity pharmacological support, it is necessary to clearly identify the metabolic component they are influencing, the mechanisms of their action and, ultimately, the nature of their impact on training process efficiency. Contraindications to the application of various pharmacological aids, their interactions and potential side effects should be taken into account as well. Based on the analysis of the modern literature data and data gathered by the authors we have formulated five basic principles to be used while designing the programs of pharmacological support in sports preparation. In the first place, any pharmacological impacts aimed at acceleration of the recovery processes after loads and increase of physical work capacity are ineffective or minimally effective in case of unreasonable prescription as well as in the absence of an adequate training process design. Assessment of the efficiency and the validity of training load setup, in its turn, should be based on the results of medico-pedagogical examination of an athlete in the course of long-term adaptation and appropriate remedial and pedagogical control. In the second place, application of pharmacological aids should accelerate the course of the natural recovery processes after loads and stimulate work capacity. While prescribing pharmacological means of such direction, one should clearly understand the objective of their usage, the main mechanisms of their action and, on that basis, the direction of the impact on training process efficiency, as well as contraindications, possible consequences of cross-interaction and side effects. In order to reduce significantly the incidence of side effects, the gold standard and the "agent of choice" may be metabolic and metabolotrophic substances, which include, for instance, L-carnitine, succinic acid and its derivatives, L-arginine based medical preparations and supplements. It should be added that the value of the above listed substances with indirect or direct cardioprotective effect during intensive physical loads has increased significantly in 2015-2016 due to the WADA prohibition of athletes’ using trimetazidine and meldonium. In the third place, one should pay attention to such parameters of preparation actions as acute, cumulative and delayed effects as well as differentiate the impacts upon power, capacity, economy and ability to be realized. Of crucial importance is the efficiency assessment of applied pharmacological means depending on the period (stage) of training cycle and specialization, skill level, character of training and competitive load energy supply, initial functional state of athlete body as well as anthropometric, and sex and age peculiarities. In the fourth place, in the context of training process intensification, deterioration of its ecological constituent, the increase in overall morbidity and the toughening of the WADA requirements, the individualization of the formed pharmacological programs for sports preparation maintenance is becoming extremely important. It should be noted that the application of a complex of pharmacological ergogenic aids is expedient and the most effective when used during preparation microcycles but permanently, with medicinal preparations, and dietary supplements varying according to the tasks set. Therefore, the methods of training should remain the major aspect in achieving optimal physical work capacity with pharmacological correction being an auxiliary, although very important component. And, finally, one should bear in mind that an athlete could be prescribed only registered preparations or dietary (food) supplements (as ergogenic aids or restorative agents) based on substances not prohibited by the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee, i.e. not included in the WADA Prohibited List.
Keywords: sport, sports pharmacology, ergogenic aids, metabolotrophic substances, antidoping legislation
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