PROJECT PARTNER
Christa Janse van Rensburg, Section Sports Medicine, University of Pretoria
FUNDING
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Amsterdam UMC
Drake Foundation
Mehiläinen NEO Hospital Turku
Sports Hospital Mehiläinen Helsinki
Nea International bv.
BACKGROUND
During their careers, professional footballers are likely to experience problems with their mental, neurocognitive and musculoskeletal health. Severe injuries and related surgeries are associated with cartilage degeneration in the hip and knee joints, and may cause early onset of osteoarthritis (OA) in the long term. Severe injuries and related surgery are also recognized as one of numerous stressors that may trigger mental health symptoms in professional footballers. When it comes to neurocognition, insight into relevant neurocognitive functions (e.g., attention, memory) among professional footballers remains limited. Amongst female professional footballers, data about gynaecological health is lacking. In order to address this knowledge gap, FIFPRO (Football Players Worldwide) and the Amsterdam UMC (University Medical Centers) have implemented a health surveillance programme in professional football aimed at gathering epidemiological evidence about the onset and course of mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive, cardiovascular and gynaecological (if applicable) health conditions in professional footballers during their pre- and post-retirement years.
OBJECTIVES
The overall aim of these two PhD research projects is twofold, namely (i) to present epidemiological evidence about the health (i.e., gynaecological, mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive) of male and female professional footballers and (ii) to explore the recovery strategies of male and female professional footballers and capture their potential needs towards additional measures.