Prevalent knee pain and sport.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of knee pain in active athletes and to investigate potential associations to type, amount and duration of sports participation.

MEASUREMENTS: 339 athletes gave information about occupation, sports activity and different features of knee pain, based on a self-filled questionnaire.

MAIN RESULTS: The prevalence of knee pain within the preceding 12 months, constant or recurrent knee pain, absence from sport and absence from work due to knee pain, was 54%, 34%, 19% and 4%, respectively. Knee pain was positively associated with years of jogging and with weekly hours of participation in competitive gymnastics but negatively with weekly hours of tennis. Constant or recurrent knee pain was positively associated with years of swimming. Absence from sport due to knee pain was positively associated with weekly hours of soccer participation.

CONCLUSIONS: Knee pain is a common symptom in athletes. The prevalence is associated with the type, amount and duration of sports participation.