hip inuries | football | osteoarthritis
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Hip inuries in footballers - osteoarthritis of the hip
Former professional footballers are 10 times more at risk of osteoarthritis of the hip than age-matched controls, even if they haven’t sustained hip injuries during their playing careers. That’s the startling conclusion of a new British study.
The researchers sent a questionnaire designed to assess the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of various joints to the managers of the 92 league and premiership football clubs in England and Wales. Of the 74 who responded to the survey, 68 were ex-professional footballers. The self-reported prevalence of OA of the hip in those managers was then compared with radiographic evidence of OA of the hip in 136 ‘controls’ matched for age and sex.
Of the 68 ex-players, nine (13.24%) reported having OA of the hip, and six of these had undergone eight total hip replacements. Of the 136 controls, only two (1.47%) showed radiographic evidence of OA and none had undergone hip replacements.
The most surprising aspect of these findings was that none of the ex-players with OA of the hip reported having any hip injuries during their playing careers. ‘This’, say the researchers, ‘is in contrast with OA of the knee, which is associated with previous knee surgery or injury.’
Why the difference? The researchers speculate that some apparent groin injuries sustained by footballers are actually repetitive minor hip joint injuries rather than soft tissue injuries.
The prevalence of OA of the hip among ex-professional footballers in this study confirms the findings of a previous study, but the comparison with non-footballers is a new development. The researchers recognise that their study has limitations – mainly the lack of scientific rigour in comparing self-reported OA with radiographically-identified disease.
However, the findings are significant enough to point to the need for further studies comparing radiographic evidence in both groups – and, according to the researchers, such a study is already under way.
Br J Sports Med 2003;37:80-81
Isabel Walker
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