Steroid users nine times more likely to rupture tendons than natural athletes

[Nelson Vergel]

Strength athletes who use anabolic steroids rupture their tendons a whopping 9 times more often than strength athletes who stay clean, write researchers at McLean Hospital, Boston in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Interestingly, according to the study, most tendons are not ruptured in the gym but outside it.
Study
The researchers derived information from a group of 142 bodybuilders (88 users and 54 natural athletes, who had been training for an average of 20 years) on how often they had ruptured a tendon. The participants were aged 35 to 55.

More here

 

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

I think the most likely explanation is that the strength and muscle mass increases from steroid use occur so quickly (relative to a natural lifter) that connective tissues do not have the time to strengthen in proportion. Not only are they subjected to loads they are not fit to handle, but they also attach to muscles much larger than what they are adapted to. What's interesting is that most of these ruptures actually happen outside the gym. I suspect that may be due to protection from trained motor patterns while performing certain lifts vs irregular and uncoordinated movements outside of the gym.