Foot/Ankle Injury During Football Career Linked to Foot/Ankle OA

MONDAY, Oct. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For retired U.K. male footballers, a foot/ankle injury during a football career is associated with an increased risk for foot/ankle osteoarthritis (OA), according to a study published online Oct. 22 in Rheumatology.

Ahmed Ali Thanoon, from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a case-control study involving retired U.K. male footballers. Cases reported general practitioner-diagnosed foot/ankle OA or forefoot/ankle surgery after retirement, while controls reported neither (63 and 361, respectively). The contribution of foot/ankle injury and injection, defined as injection of corticosteroid or other agents into the foot/ankle joint, to the risk for foot/ankle OA was examined.

The researchers found that cases had more foot/ankle injury and injections than controls (73.3 versus 42.5 percent and 75.0 versus 48.4 percent, respectively), with adjusted odds ratios of 4.23 and 2.62, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.69, 0.74, and 0.78 for injury, injury and injection, and all risk factors, respectively. In footballers with ankle OA only, the results were similar.

“Our findings clearly show that a significant foot or ankle injury during a player”s career is a major, modifiable risk factor of osteoarthritis late in life,” co-author Weiya Zhang, from the University of Nottingham, said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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