[Incidence of previous engagement in sports among patients with symptomatic arthrosis. Controlled study]

The authors investigated sports-related precedents in two groups of male subjects, aged 40 years and over, of French nationality. One group had consulted for a degenerative, chronic rheumatic disorder, and the control group showed no signs of this type of disorder. Care was taken to verify that the two groups did not differ in terms of profession, means of commuting from home to work, and non-sporting leisure physical activities. The authors observed that the subjects of the first group (chronic degenerative rheumatic disease) more frequently engaged in a sports activity, and in a significant manner, than did the control subjects. A separate study of the certain kinds of sports and the various arthritic localisations also revealed significant correlations. Although this involved a retrospective enquiry, the authors feel that the results provide arguments in favor of the pathogenic role of sports activity, with regard to peripheral joints and the spine. However, this role of sports is probably only partial and irregular. The risks of sports activity must be put in perspective and balanced with the various advantages afforded by the practice of sports.