Associations between sport participation and knee symptoms: a cross-sectional study involving 3053 undergraduate students

Abstract

Background: While a number of studies have investigated knee symptoms among elite athletes, few have directly compared the association between engagement in different sports and knee symptoms among young adults in the general population. The current study aimed to investigate the relation between sports participation hours, type/ number of sports engaged, self-rated competitiveness and knee symptoms among undergraduates. Methods: Undergraduates were invited to participate in a self-administered online survey through invitation emails. Respondents were instructed to provide demographic information (e.g., age, gender, sports participation hours, types of engaged sports, self-rated competitiveness in sports and anxiety level etc.) and to report knee symptoms (current, the last 7 days, the last 12 months, and lifetime). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to investigate the association between sports participation and current knee symptoms. Results: Of 17,552 invitees, 3744 responded to the survey. Valid data from 3053 respondents was used for analysis. Forty-four percent of the respondents engaged in sports regularly (≥once per week). Running, cross-training and swimming were the most frequently participated sports among the respondents. The current prevalence rate of knee symptoms was 6.4%. Hours spent participating in combat sports, soccer, yoga, and basketball participation hours were significantly associated with current knee symptoms. Respondents who rated themselves as "competitive" demonstrated a higher risk of having current knee symptoms than "recreational" players. Number of engaged sports was not associated with current knee symptoms among undergraduates. Conclusions: Certain sports types were associated with current knee symptoms. Compared to self-rated "recreational" players, self-rated "competitive" players were more likely to have current knee symptoms. Students should take preventive measures to minimize their risk of developing knee symptoms, especially when participating in combat sports, soccer, yoga, and basketball, or engaging in sports at a highly competitive level.

Wearable Monitoring and Predicting System for Knee Joint Fatigue Based on Curvature and Pressure Sensing

“…The economical electronic prototype of sensoring system is able to acquire the data successfully in real time which can help to make a correct decision. It can also be found in Figure 2 and 3 that playing basket had the greatest risk of knee fatigue in these four sports due to its fast running and strong physical confrontation while playing table tennis had the lowest risk, which is consistent with previous report [3]. Furthermore, female gender and high BMI value are two factors to increase the risk of knee injuries.…”

“…Therefore, prevention of that injury in sports is an important and meaningful work in sports protection. The studies have found that knee injury from sports in closely related to knee joint fatigue caused by excessive exercise [3][4][5]. Thus, if the knee joint fatigue can be estimated and predicted during the sports, early warning can be made to reduce the intensity or duration of the exercise.…”

Evaluation of Sleep Habits, Generalized Anxiety, Perceived Stress, and Research Outputs Among Postgraduate Research Students in Hong Kong During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

“…The survey was developed using the Typeform© survey platform, which has been used in similar previous studies. 38 , 39 This survey took approximately 15 minutes to complete. A browser cookie was used to prevent respondents from repeating the survey in the same browser.…”

Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and associated risk factors in Canadian university students

“…The questionnaire was developed by a panel of clinicians and scientists with over 18 years of experience in clinical practice or conducting musculoskeletal research. The questionnaire has been used in similar epidemiological research for university students [10]. Speci cally, it consisted of three sections: the rst section included a modi ed Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to assess musculoskeletal symptoms in nine body parts (i.e., neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist/ ngers, upper back, lower back, hip/thigh, knee and ankle) at the present moment, and in the last 7 days and the last 12 months [13].…”

“…In addition, there is evidence to suggest that the eld of study can also in uence the likelihood of developing MSKDs, as university students in the health care studies have a higher risk of MSKDs compared to those in non-health care studies [7, 8,9]. Furthermore, exercise is often reported as a protective factor against MSKDs; however, previous research in undergraduate students suggests that involvement in competitive sports can increase the likelihood of knee pain [10]. There is also a signi cant body of literature suggesting an association between mental health and MSKDs [11].…”