Prevalence of foot/ankle osteoarthritis and pain in retired male professional footballers compared with general population male controls: a cross-sectional study
Authors' conclusion
Retired male professional footballers were more likely to have self-reported and radiographic foot/ankle OA than general population male controls. The ankle appeared the joint most affected by OA in footballers compared with controls.
Study context
- Population
- Retired male professional footballers and general population male controls; questionnaires posted to 878 footballers and 1060 controls113 footballers and 319 controls had radiographs
- Participants
- 468 vs 619
- Exposure
- Retired male professional footballers vs general population male controls
- Footballersn = 468
- Controlsn = 619reference
- Outcome
- Foot/ankle osteoarthritis (OA) (self-reported and radiographic) and pain
Methodological detailsrobust Poisson regression
- Robust Poisson regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Footballers vs ControlsAdjusted relative risk (95% CI)
GP-diagnosed foot/ankle OA (self-reported)
1.77(1.22–2.57)
Forefoot/ankle surgery
2.80(2.04–3.84)
Current foot/ankle pain
1.33(1.09–1.62)
Foot/ankle radiographic OA (ROA)
1.04(1.01–1.07)
Symptomatic ROA (sROA)
1.63(1.21–2.19)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Prevalence of foot/ankle osteoarthritis and pain in retired male professional footballers compared with general population male controls: a cross-sectional study. Rheumatology (Oxford). Published 15 May 2026. doi:10.
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