Osteoarthritis of the knee in retired, elite Australian Rules footballers

Abstract

Objective: To determine the functional and radiological status of knee joints of retired Australian Rules footballers compared with those of active community members. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Participants: Fifty retired elite footballers aged 34–85 years (mean, 53.7 years; SD, 11.4) from four AFL clubs and 50 age‐matched controls (35–79 years; mean, 55.7 years; SD, 12.4) who had played no contact sport since their teenage years. Main outcome measures: Severity of knee functional osteoarthritis as determined by a questionnaire, and assessment of osteoarthritis by posteroanterior weight‐bearing radiographs taken of both knees of each participant in 45‐degree flexion. Results: After adjusting for age, height, weight and body mass index, footballers had a significantly greater prevalence (P<0.0001) and severity (P<0.05) of functional and radiological osteoarthritis than controls. Footballers with a history of intra‐articular ligamentous and/or meniscal injury (Group 1) had a greater risk of functional osteoarthritis (P=0.002) and radiological (P=0.067) osteoarthritis than those with a history of collateral ligament injury or no injury (Group 2). Compared with controls, the odds of developing moderate to severe levels of functional and radiological osteoarthritis were 6.9 times (95% CI, 1.6–29.7; P=0.01) and 105.0 times (95% CI, 11.8–931.8; P< 0.0001), respectively, those in Group 1 footballers and 3.6 times (95% CI, 0.8–16.2; P=0.10) and 17.7 times (95% CI, 2.2–146.2; P=0.0075), respectively, those in Group 2 footballers. Conclusions: Elite Australian Rules footballers have a significant risk of both functional and radiological osteoarthritis, and a history of intra‐articular ligament or meniscal injury increases this risk.

Allogeneic Versus Autologous Derived Cell Sources for Use in Engineered Bone-Ligament-Bone Grafts in Sheep Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair

“…6 These limitations may be associated with poorer outcomes from ACL reconstructions with reports of failure and recurrent instability in 10-15% of cases. [7][8][9][10] Tissue engineering strategies are being studied to address the limitations associated with current tendon graft technologies. Most current tissue engineering techniques being investigated involve the use of natural or synthetic polymer scaffolds to provide an integrating and degradable structure for cellular attachment.…”

The association between theCOL12A1gene and anterior cruciate ligament ruptures

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Participation in Athletic Activities May Be Associated with Later Development of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis

“…56 Non-statistically significant differences between athletes and controls were found in another 2 studies. 57,58 Of the remaining 6 studies, Deacon et al, 59 in the only study with a control group, reported that the study group (50 former elite football players) had a significantly greater prevalence and severity of functional and radiographically confirmed knee OA than the control group. The 5 remaining studies reported varying rates of knee OA (26%-63%).…”