Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review
Objective: Use of painkillers appears to have become a widespread issue in the sporting environment as athletes pursue successful pain relief during competitions. We conducted a systematic review on the prevalence of analgesics use in soccer, using literature from January 1980 to July 2021. Methods:...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Apunts Sports Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666506923000147 |
| _version_ | 1797776194489286656 |
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| author | Thomas Zandonai Juan José Lozano Mónica Escorial Ana M. Peiró |
| author_facet | Thomas Zandonai Juan José Lozano Mónica Escorial Ana M. Peiró |
| author_sort | Thomas Zandonai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: Use of painkillers appears to have become a widespread issue in the sporting environment as athletes pursue successful pain relief during competitions. We conducted a systematic review on the prevalence of analgesics use in soccer, using literature from January 1980 to July 2021. Methods: The systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. Studies were obtained from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS) databases. In total, 213 articles were found where 14 were selected. The risk of bias was assessed using the NIH scale for prevalence studies and the PEDro quality scale for randomized control trials (RCTs). Results: Less than 3% of the literature were randomized studies (n=10 observational; n=4 double-blind trials) and only 2 studies included females. At least 54% of the research subjects consumed analgesic drugs during the course of their tournaments, and nearly half of them (39-67%) did so before each match, mostly in the form of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (15% of daily use). Conclusion: Given that short-term observational studies indicated high consumption of analgesics despite limited evidence of their pain control effectiveness, the question is raised whether this potential drug abuse affects the sexes at the same rates and in the same ways. Further investigation into these specific cohorts is needed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:46:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bcda50c272e243b0a3a3cec25cf5809b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5069 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:46:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Apunts Sports Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-bcda50c272e243b0a3a3cec25cf5809b2023-07-21T05:00:21ZengElsevierApunts Sports Medicine2666-50692023-07-0158219100415Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic reviewThomas Zandonai0Juan José Lozano1Mónica Escorial2Ana M. Peiró3Department of Pharmacology, Paediatrics and Organic Chemistry, Bioengineering Institute, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Alicante, Spain; Neuropharmacology on Pain and Functional Diversity (NED), Institute of Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante (ISABIAL Foundation), Alicante, Spain; Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Corresponding author at: Department of Pharmacology, Pediatrics and Organic Chemistry, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Crta. Nacional, N-332. s/n, 03550 Sant Joan, Alicante, Spain.Pain Unit, Department of Health of Alicante-General Hospital, Alicante, Spain; Bioengineering Institute, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, SpainNeuropharmacology on Pain and Functional Diversity (NED), Institute of Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante (ISABIAL Foundation), Alicante, Spain; Bioengineering Institute, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, SpainDepartment of Pharmacology, Paediatrics and Organic Chemistry, Bioengineering Institute, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Alicante, Spain; Neuropharmacology on Pain and Functional Diversity (NED), Institute of Health and Biomedical Research of Alicante (ISABIAL Foundation), Alicante, Spain; Pain Unit, Department of Health of Alicante-General Hospital, Alicante, Spain; Bioengineering Institute, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, SpainObjective: Use of painkillers appears to have become a widespread issue in the sporting environment as athletes pursue successful pain relief during competitions. We conducted a systematic review on the prevalence of analgesics use in soccer, using literature from January 1980 to July 2021. Methods: The systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. Studies were obtained from the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS) databases. In total, 213 articles were found where 14 were selected. The risk of bias was assessed using the NIH scale for prevalence studies and the PEDro quality scale for randomized control trials (RCTs). Results: Less than 3% of the literature were randomized studies (n=10 observational; n=4 double-blind trials) and only 2 studies included females. At least 54% of the research subjects consumed analgesic drugs during the course of their tournaments, and nearly half of them (39-67%) did so before each match, mostly in the form of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (15% of daily use). Conclusion: Given that short-term observational studies indicated high consumption of analgesics despite limited evidence of their pain control effectiveness, the question is raised whether this potential drug abuse affects the sexes at the same rates and in the same ways. Further investigation into these specific cohorts is needed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666506923000147PainkillersPrevalenceClinical trialPain |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Zandonai Juan José Lozano Mónica Escorial Ana M. Peiró Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review Apunts Sports Medicine Painkillers Prevalence Clinical trial Pain |
| title | Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review |
| title_full | Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review |
| title_short | Use of analgesics in professional soccer players: A systematic review |
| title_sort | use of analgesics in professional soccer players a systematic review |
| topic | Painkillers Prevalence Clinical trial Pain |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666506923000147 |
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