ArticleOccupational medicine (Oxford, England)2023
Increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis among former professional soccer (football) players.
Article in Occupational medicine (Oxford, England), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- [BK 2118: knee osteoarthritis in professional football : Expert assessment of occupational exposure, sports injury, and competing causes].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Stem Cells and their Key Derivatives in Degenerative Musculoskeletal Diseases.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Review
- Mechanical Signatures of Tibiofemoral Cartilage Degeneration Identified by Unconfined Compression Testing: Implications for Early Osteoarthritis Risk in Athletes.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Injury and local injection and the risk of foot/ankle osteoarthritis: a case-control study in retired UK male professional footballers.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Stage-dependent effects of moderate treadmill exercise on cartilage preservation and subchondral bone remodeling in mouse osteoarthritis progression.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2025Article
- Implementing exposure limits for players in contact team sports: review of principles and practices.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSoccer is a high-speed contact sport with risk of injury. Despite long-standing concern, evidence to date remains inconsistent as to the association between playing professional-level soccer and lifelong musculoskeletal consequences.
aimsThe objectives were to assess risk of osteoarthritis in former professional soccer players compared to matched general population controls, and subsequently assess associated musculoskeletal disorders which may contribute to, or result from, osteoarthritis-specifically meniscal injury and joint replacement.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study using national electronic health records (EHRs) on a cohort of 7676 former professional soccer players aged 40 or over at recruitment, matched on year of birth, sex (all male) and socio-economic status with 23 028 general population controls. Outcomes of interest were obtained by utilizing individual-level record linkage to EHRs from general hospital inpatient and day-case admissions.
resultsCompared to controls, former soccer players showed a greater risk of hospital admission for osteoarthritis (hazard ratio [HR] 3.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.80-3.25; P < 0.001). This increased risk appeared age dependant, normalizing over age 80 years and reflective of increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis. Further, risk of hospital admissions for meniscal injury (HR 2.73; 95% CI 2.42-3.08; P < 0.001) and joint replacement (HR 2.82; 95% CI 2.23-3.57; P < 0.001) were greater among former soccer players.
conclusionsWe report an increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis in former soccer players when compared with matched population controls. The results of this research add data in support of lower limb osteoarthritis among former soccer players representing a potential industrial injury.
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Registered trials
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