The relationship between knee injuries and quality of life after retirement in former Brazilian professional soccer players

Abstract

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common cause of locomotor disability. It is estimated that 4% of the brazilian population have osteoarthritis and the knee joint is the second most affected joint with 37% of the cases. Osteoarthritis, in contrast to the imagined, is not only a disease of older people and can also affect young individuals. Approximately 3.5 to 5% of the population between 35 and 54 years presented radiographic signs of osteoarthritis, and most cases are related to previous knee injuries. Since it affects part of the active population, OA causes a society economically burdening of the countries health systems. This condition has no known cure and the main goal of treatment is the improvement of pain, function and quality of life.Football is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world. As a sport, football has undergone many changes in recent years, mainly due to increasing physical demands.This forces the athletes to work near their maximum, with a higher predisposition to injury and overload of the joints. Some studies have shown a higher incidence of osteoarthritis in the knees of former professional soccer players when compared with individuals of the population. However, there are still no studies in the literature evaluating the knee lesions of these retired players using MRI and relating this to quality of life after the career.The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of professional soccerl with more knee joint degeneration and decreased quality of life of these athletes after retirement. (AU)