The investigation of a Canadian doctor for his involvement in distributing HGH or human growth hormone revealed some of his prominent patients from the field of sports. The first name linked to Dr. Anthony Galea was the possible use of steroids or HGH of Tiger Woods. Woods who is now on indefinite leave from golf was one of the patients of Dr. Galea. He was treated with platelet-rich plasma therapy when he suffered an injury last year. Although the treatment was not illegal, the involvement of the doctor to illegal performance enhancing drugs raised the suspicion that the best golfer in the world was also treated with steroids.

News agencies did not stop probing the long list of clients of the prominent doctor of professional athletes. Dr. Galea admitted that many professional athletes from the different major sports organization in the country asked his medical advice and underwent treatment for injuries. Some clients even call him the “Miracle Man” because of the high success rate of his therapy. Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy may be new to some people but it is popular in the field of sports since it speeds up the recovery of athletes from injuries. The process involves extracting blood and putting it on a centrifuge to separate platelets. It is then injected back to the patient to promote healing.

Of course, the major league baseball will not be left behind if we talk about performance enhancing drugs. The New York Times reported that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is also on the list of Dr. Galea. Reyes suffered from a leg injured last year and went to Toronto to receive PRP treatment from the doctor. His agent, Peter Greenberg suggested it to the team to address the condition of Reyes which was diagnosed as a torn hamstring tendon. The Mets initially has apprehension on the procedure but later agreed provided that a medical representative from the team is also present during the treatment. They want to be sure that the treatment will not include any drug banned by the league.

If there are positive claims on the effects of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy, Reyes’ condition did not improve. According to Greenberg, the treatment from Dr. Galea did not help his ward. “We did do due diligence and checked up on all his references. He came highly recommended from all the different doctors we spoke to and the references we followed up on. Unfortunately, it didn’t work,” said Greenberg. The two-time All-Star was not seen in action in the 2009 season since he underwent a surgery for an aggravated hamstring injury while on rehabilitation. It is expected that he will be back on the spring training.

Other baseball players who went to Dr. Galea for medical treatment were reliever Huston Street of Oakland Athletics and pitcher John Patterson of the Washington Nationals. Street received extensive oxygen therapy for an irritated ulnar nerve in his right elbow. Patterson was also suffering from a nerve problem when he went to Canada for treatment in 2007. The consultation with Dr. Galea was recommended by their agents, Randy and Alan Hendricks. “Our understanding was that Dr. Galea was a well-known doctor in Canada who had worked extensively with well known professional tennis players, football players and hockey players,” said Randy.

Sprinter Donovan Bailey and swimmer Dara Torres were also named as clients of the doctor. Although there were numerous professional athletes linked to Dr. Anthony Galea, he denied prescribing illegal substances like anabolic steroids and HGH to athletes. He told the media that he personally use HGH and only prescribed HGH to patients over 40. He is now facing charges for illegal distribution of performance enhancing drugs like HGH and Actovegin.

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