NON-RUNNERS take delight in highlighting the purported risk of long-term damage the sport can wreak on joints. Yet a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests they are wrong, at least when it comes to the development of osteoarthritis (OA), the joint disease caused predominantly by wear and tear.
Footballers are at a greater risk of osteoarthritis than runners, study finds
Professor Philip Conaghan of the Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Leeds and a team of researchers reviewed 46 studies that looked at the relationship between different sports and OA. Findings suggested that 31 research papers suggested a heightened link with the condition when participants played sport at elite or non-elite level.