Musculoskeletal pain in lacrosse officials impacts function on the field

This study determined the prevalence of joint pain among lacrosse officials and described the impact of pain thereof on current officiating duties on the field. Members of the US Lacrosse Officials Development Programme were provided with an electronic survey (a 15.7% response rate resulted in N = 1,441 of completed surveys). Pain sites and severity, previous injuries and current impact of musculoskeletal pain on officiating duties were captured. Pain was present in 18.1-40.1% of respondents at the foot, shoulder, back and knee. A total of 437 officials reported diagnoses of osteoarthritis ([OA]; knee 48.7%, hip 10.5%, spine 10.1%, shoulder 8.0%) and 247 reported OA in more than one joint (p < .05). Officials with OA or previous lacrosse-related injuries reported frequent difficulty with running the entire field distance (p < 0.0001), starting and stopping on the field (p < 0.0001), keeping pace (p < 0.0001), focusing on multiple actions of players at once (p < 0.0001), and enjoyment (all p < 0.0001). Musculoskeletal pain is a common, unrecognized issue in this population that interferes with sport officiating functions. Additional study is needed to objectively determine the impact of OA pain and musculoskeletal injuries on measurable performance outcomes on the field and subjective measures of focus, attention and enjoyment.