Extra Time: Keeping football players in the game longer

Football boasts the largest global following of any sport, and while research has focused on players’ injuries while active and when retired, a new study explores different health domains in professional players while they’re still active. The results could be a game-changer.

Footballers have a shorter career duration than most other athletes, with some of the greatest players of all time, like Ronaldo Nazário, being forced to retire in their prime due to persistent injuries. 

What if better monitoring could advance their healthcare while they’re still active – and even prolong their careers and ensure a healthy retirement? That’s the goal of Dr Lervasen Pillay, a specialist sports and exercise medicine physician at the University of Pretoria’s (UP)Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI). 

He says that research in football has focused on retired players, with reporting on osteoarthritis of the hip and knee, mental health, and the effect on their neurocognitive function. Among active players, research is mostly concentrated on injuries and how that affects performance and return to play.

“Our research focuses on active professional male footballers around the world, a sub-group of athletes that has been under-investigated,” Dr Pillay says. “Since 2021, we have undertaken six sub-studies among active professional male footballers.” 

 He believes that present and future results will add value to the development of surveillance processes to advance the healthcare of these players while they are still active and into retirement. This initial evaluation of the healthcare status quo was a joint venture between UP’s Section Sports Medicine, a specialised postgraduate course for medical doctors with a keen interest in sports medicine, and the University of Amsterdam.

“Our published results provide baseline data on the physical, mental health and neurocognitive well-being of active professional male football players worldwide; this is just a first step,” Dr Pillay explains.

The research is supported by the Drake Foundation Football Study and Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, a worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers. 

“There is potential to develop a health monitoring programme over the following 10 years, by utilising this baseline data collected through various study designs (such as surveys, data collection or interviews with players and medical staff at football clubs worldwide) and further planned studies,” Dr Pillay says.

The study focused on aspects that currently lack data, and found the following:

• International match calendar congestion influences physical and mental health performance significantly. This had not been previously reported.
• Clinical hip and knee osteoarthritis has a significant association with pain, function and injury, which affects performance.
• Interventional management of hip, knee and ankle osteoarthritis in the active elite athlete has short- and long-term effects. These can be positive or negative, depending on the intervention.
• The prevalence and incidence of mental health symptoms associated with injuries or surgeries may influence performance negatively. While this has been previously reported with various tools, this study used a validated tool.
• There is an association between impairments of cognitive functioning and concussions. This is a first finding among this group. 

“The clinical implications of these findings can be applied in the real-world environment, empowering practitioners, administrators and other stakeholders to implement surveillance programmes among their players,” Dr Pillay explains. “This will enable them to better identify when interventions may be required to maintain optimal athlete health and performance during their careers and even after retirement.”

While it is industry-specific, this research helps present and future professionals to access healthcare accordingly.

Why this research matters

Too many professional sportspeople have to retire at the peak of their careers due to injury, and live with the physical and mental consequences for the rest of their lives. This study draws attention to proper surveillance programmes for players so that timely interventions can help maintain optimal health and performance during their active careers and beyond.

FAST FACT

Since the 2012 Olympic Games in London, UP athletes have won a total of 22 medals, making up half of Team South Africa’s haul.

This story first appeared in RE.SEARCH  magazine Issue 12: Global. Click here to read more.