title: Sport and early osteoarthritis: the role of sport in aetiology, progression and treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
abstract: Sports activities are considered favourable for general health; nevertheless, a possible influence of sports practice on the development of early osteoarthritis (OA) is a cause for concern. A higher incidence of OA in knees and ankles of former high-impact sports players than in those of the normal population has been shown and it is still debatable whether the cause is either to be recognized generically in the higher number of injuries or in a joint overload. The possibility to address knee OA in its early phases may be strictly connected to the modification of specific extrinsic or intrinsic factors, related to the patient in order to save the joint from further disease progression; these include sport practice, equipment and load. Non-surgical therapies such as continuative muscles reinforce and training play a strong role in the care of athletes with early OA, particularly if professional. There is an overall agreement on the need of an early restoring of a proper meniscal, ligament and cartilage integrity in order to protect the knee and resume sports safely, whereas alignment is a point still strongly debatable especially for professional athletes. Remaining questions still to be answered are the risks of different sports in relation to one another, although an actual protective effect of low-impact sports, such as walking, swimming or cycling, has been recognized on the appearance or worsening of OA, the effect of continuing or ceasing to practice a sport on the natural history of early OA, and even following appropriate treatment is still unknown.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Bologna, 1 Clinic, Bologna University, Bologna, Italy. francesca.vannini@ior.it.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vannini
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spalding
authors.affiliation: II Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Clinic - Biomechanics and Technology Innovation Laboratory, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6352-9671
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andriolo
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Gaetano Pini, SSD Chirurgia Articolare del Ginocchio, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berruto
authors.affiliation: Clinica Luganese, Lugano, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denti
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedics Department, Minho University, Minho, Portugal.|Clínica do Dragão, Espregueira-Mendes Sports Centre - FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Porto, Portugal.|Dom Henrique Research Centre, Porto, Portugal.|3B's Research Group-Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark, Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017, Barco, Guimarães, Portugal.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Espregueira-Mendes
authors.affiliation: Centre de medicine de l'appareil locomoteur et sport, Unité d'Orthopédie et Traumatologie du Sport (UOTS), Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologie de l'appareil moteur, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menetrey
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy.|Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Peretti
authors.affiliation: Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique, Centre de L'Appareil Locomoteur, de Médecine du Sport et de Prévention, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg-Clinique d'Eich and Sports Medicine Research Laboratory, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 78, rue d'Eich, 1460, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seil
authors.affiliation: II Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Clinic - Biomechanics and Technology Innovation Laboratory, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Filardo
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000601:surgery; D018450:Disease Progression; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D013177:Sports
keywords: Cartilage; Degeneration; Early osteoarthritis; Knee; Sport