Ex- footballers more at risk of knee problems
● Study finds ex- professional players are more likely to have joint replacement
R e t i r e d p r o f e s s i o n a l f o o t - b a l l e r s a r e f a r mor e p r o n e to developing knee pain and osteoar t hri t i s earl i er i n l i f e t h a n t h e ave r a g e p e r s o n , a study has revealed.
The study reported that male e x - f o o t b a l l e r s we r e t wo t o three times more likely to suffer from knee pain and knee osteoar thritis and require a total replacement, even after adjustment for other risk factors including significant knee injury.
E x - f o o t b a l l e r s r e p o r t e d more k n e e p a i n , s t r uc t u r a l knee osteoar thritis on x- ray and total knee replacements across al l age groups i n t he study and especially in younger age groups ( 40- 54 years).
The research was led by academics at The Universit y of Not t i ng ha m a nd f unded by the charity Arthritis Research UK with collaborative support from FMARC ( FIFA’S Medical and Research Centre), the Professional Footballers Associa- tion ( PFA) and SPIRE Healthcare Group.
The research also revealed that although former footballers presented with more musculoskeletal pain, they were less likely to suffer or repor t with other conditions or diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks and cancer.
M o r e t h a n 1 , 2 0 0 e x - f o o t - ball ers with an average age of 59 years were recruited via the PFA and from individual league clubs and professional football associations in the UK and compared to more than 4 , 0 0 0 g e n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n men from the East Midlands region with an average age of 62.8 years.
Prof Mark Batt, Director of t h e A r t h r i t i s R e s e a r c h U K Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, said: “This was a well- conducted study powered t o i nvestigate b oth t he positive and negative effects of playing professional football. The research will allow us to more accurately communicate both the associated benefits and risks to those involved in the industry.”