Abstract
Background: Although knee injuries in professional soccer (football) have been extensively studied, the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in veteran players is not well documented. Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of knee OA in retired professional soccer players in comparison with a group of athletically active military personnel. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A group of 100 veteran Greek soccer players aged 35 to 55 years (mean [±SD] age, 46.90 ± 5.9 years) were examined for knee OA and were administered the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaire. A matched group of 100 athletically active military personnel served as a comparison group. Results: The sonographic prevalence of OA was significantly higher in the veteran soccer group (52%) than in the military group (33%) (n = 200; P =.010). This difference remained significant even after excluding participants with a history of knee surgery (44.1% vs 25.3%, respectively) (n = 151; P =.010). Femoral cartilage thickness was similar between the 2 groups (P =.473), while altered knee alignment had no effect on the prevalence of OA (P =.740). With the exception of perceived pain being more prevalent in the military group, there were no other statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in KOOS values. Conclusion: Veteran soccer players had a higher sonographic prevalence of knee OA but better pain scores than a matched group of athletically active military personnel.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1447-1454 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | American Journal of Sports Medicine |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2016 |
Keywords
- aging athlete
- diagnostic ultrasound imaging
- football (soccer)
- knee
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation