Did you know athletes can be more prone to arthritis?

Have you suffered sports injuries such as:

• A ruptured ACL from playing basketball?
• A torn rotator cuff from playing football?
• Foot injuries from dancing?

You could be at higher risk for developing arthritis.

Why do athletes have an increased chance of arthritis?

“Athletes are more likely to have suffered injuries—to their knees especially,” says John Krebs, MD. “Basketball players, with years of pounding up and down the court, eventually wear their knees out and may develop knee arthritis

“Likewise, football players may have a tweak here and there—repairing a torn meniscus or a ruptured ACL,” Dr. Krebs explains. “We rebuild them and keep these athletes playing, but eventually they can suffer long-term damage to their joints.”

What kind of arthritis most commonly affects athletes?

“Athletes are prone to post-traumatic arthritis, a form of osteoarthritis that can develop after injuring a joint,” says Dr. Krebs. “What we're seeing now is a lot more knee replacements and other joint replacements in the older athletes who played 20 years ago.”

How does the Center for Orthopedics treat athletic injuries?

“Athletes represent a special set of patients,” says Daniel Zanotti, MD, who is fellowship-trained in sports medicine and arthroscopy. “They're very active—not necessarily younger, but they try to keep their bodies in better condition than the average person. This has led us to create different strategies for helping athletes.

“Arthritis in athletes can affect any joint because athletes can injure any joint—the shoulders, the knees, the ankles. Depending on which joint is injured, we have to direct treatment in a way to keep athletes in their active lifestyle.

“Minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery can help shorten recovery time,” Dr. Zanotti adds, “and physical therapy is a huge part of any athlete's recovery.”

Is there any way to help avoid post-traumatic arthritis?

“Sports teams are treating their players more carefully today,” says Dr. Krebs. “If a player is injured, they don't shoot him up with cortisone and make him go back out on the field and play like they did in the past. The teams are more conservative, and the operations we do now to correct these problems are better.”

“More athletes today also understand that being active and aggressive in training can cause injuries,” Dr. Zanotti adds.

What types of arthritis are athletes most prone to?

“The most common types of injuries vary by sport,” says Dr. Zanotti.

• Overhead sports such as tennis, volleyball and swimming, where you're constantly taking your arms over your head, lead to a much higher rate of shoulder injuries—which can lead to shoulder arthritis
• Cutting, twisting and turning sports such as soccer, football and basketball have a higher rate of knee injuries—which sometimes results in knee arthritis
• Dancing is very demanding on the feet and ankles. Foot injuries are a huge issue for dancers, from fractures to ligament injuries to ankle problems. Some dancers end up developing ankle arthritis in their later years.

Can weight training lead to arthritis?

“Weight training, depending on how you do it, can be very beneficial, but it can also have side-effects,” says Dr. Zanotti. “For instance, the AC (acromioclavicular) joint in your shoulder is much more commonly worn out in weightlifters—especially overhead weightlifters—than in non-weightlifters. This might eventually lead to shoulder arthritis

“Weightlifting does stress different parts of your body, depending on what you're lifting. Back, knee and foot injuries can also occur in weightlifters,” Dr. Zanotti adds. “So while it's definitely good to include weight training in your exercise program, there are injuries that can go along with that. If you weight-lift in an incorrect way, you're really putting your body at risk.”

Do you consider active Baby Boomers athletes?

“Yes,” says Dr. Zanotti. “We consider athletes to be people of any age who stay active and keep participating in their favorite physical activities.

“With the Baby Boomers getting slightly older, there's going to be an increased prevalence of injuries—whether rotator cuff injuries from playing golf or tennis, knee arthritis or ankle arthritis from sports injuries.

“Adults in their 50s, 60s and 70s want to be active and keep playing sports, and we encourage that,” says Dr. Zanotti.

“People are living longer these days,” he adds. “We play harder, we work harder. With today's minimally invasive treatment techniques, the Center for Orthopedics can offer you the chance to get back to your favorite activities if you're injured—a chance that might not have been possible with yesterday's technology.

“There are lots of new options,” says Dr. Zanotti. “If you want to stay active, we're here to help.”