Abstract
Purpose: affecting approximately one in four adults over the age of 40 years in the UK, knee pain is the most common presenting feature of osteoarthritis (OA). Despite the plethora of studies that have investigated the factors associated with the onset of knee pain in the sedentary population, relatively little is known about the prevalence and occupational factors associated with knee pain in an athletic sporting population. This study aimed to determine in Great Britain’s (GB) Olympians, aged 40 years and older, (1) the individual factors.
Highlights
An individual’s confidence in the weight bearing role of the knee may be fundamental in guiding their decisions about physical activity (PA) participation
Little is known about knee confidence and the long-term influence it may have on the behaviours of young adults with a history of knee joint injury that are at high risk of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA)
The association between knee confidence and other modifiable risk factors for OA such as body composition and PA participation have not been examined in this population
Summary
An individual’s confidence in the weight bearing role of the knee may be fundamental in guiding their decisions about physical activity (PA) participation. Results: Experts came to an agreement on a number of key issues: 1) The use of Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes per week as a key method for harmonising PA variables between cohorts (requiring both intensity and time per week of an activity) 2) The determination of methods for treating missing components of MET minutes per week calculation; Instead of using a standard 30 minutes when duration of activity is missing, a value will be produced from comparable activities within a representative cohort 3) Exclusion of the domain of ‘occupation’ from total MET mins/wk This was due both to the overestimation of MET mins/wk when including occupation as a PA domain, as well as the known risk relationship between manual labour and osteoarthritis 4) The need for a specific measure of ‘joint loading’ of an activity in addition to intensity and time, in studies of bone diseases such as osteoarthritis Conclusions: This consensus study has provided a method to classify and harmonize PA in existing epidemiological osteoarthritis cohorts. This study aimed to determine in Great Britain’s (GB) Olympians, aged 40 years and older, (1) the individual factors associated with knee pain, and (2) the effects of occupational sporting activity on the prevalence of knee pain
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