Prevalence of upper extremity pain and disability in elite football, ice hockey and floorball players
In athletes, injuries and medical conditions affecting the upper extremities are quite common. However, there has been limited research on the occurrence of joint pain in the peripheral upper extremities among elite athletes. Thus, this study aimed to determine how prevalent upper limb pain and d...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MRE Press
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Men's Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://oss.jomh.org/files/article/20231130-151/pdf/JOMH2023080701.pdf |
| Summary: | In athletes, injuries and medical conditions affecting the upper extremities are
quite common. However, there has been limited research on the occurrence of joint
pain in the peripheral upper extremities among elite athletes. Thus, this study
aimed to determine how prevalent upper limb pain and disability are among team
sports players, particularly in football, ice hockey and floorball. We also aimed
to compare the severity of pain and disability among these sports and assess the
risk of developing upper limb pain in athletes. This cross-sectional study was
conducted between June 2021 and September 2022, involving 388 male elite athletes
from national-level sports clubs. The prevalence of shoulder pain and disability
was determined using the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPI). Assessment of
elbow pain and disability was conducted using the Oxford Elbow Score (OES), while
wrist pain and disability were evaluated through the Patient-Rated Wrist
Evaluation (PRWE). Significant differences in total SPI, OES and PRWE scores were
observed among all groups. Ice hockey players experienced the highest levels of
shoulder and wrist pain. Compared to football and floorball players, ice-hockey
players had a 2.13 times higher risk of shoulder pain, with a pain incidence of
40.8%. Ice hockey also had a 1.71 times higher risk of wrist pain than football,
with a pain prevalence of 26.3%. Notably, floorball players exhibited the most
pronounced elbow pain, with a 13.18-fold higher risk than football and ice-hockey
players and a pain prevalence of 67.2%. The study findings suggest that ice
hockey players experience the highest pain levels in their right limbs, whereas
football players have the lowest pain levels, underscoring the importance of
dedicating more attention to developing innovative, effective and advanced
preventive programs for athletes. |
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| ISSN: | 1875-6867 1875-6859 |