One in three reports pain in a given week: a one-season prospective study on prevalence of pain and analgesic use in amateur female and male football players.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To study the prevalence of pain and analgesic use in amateur football players and explore sex-based and age-based differences.

Methods

A prospective cohort study of 316 amateur football players (185 females, 131 males), mean age 20 years (range 15-54). Baseline data on demographics and pain history in the preceding season were collected. Players reported training/match participation, pain, analgesic use and injuries every 2 weeks over a 7-month season (April-October 2023).

Results

2439 weekly reports were analysed. Weekly pain prevalence was 40.7% (95% CI 36.4% to 45.4%) in female players and 37.2% (32.4% to 42.7%) in male players. Moderate to severe pain was more frequently reported in youth females than youth males (weekly prevalence 20.5% (15.8% to 26.8%

SUBMITTER: Sonesson S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12766771 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature