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Category

Injury prevention

Document Type

Paper

Abstract

This study investigated cam-like morphology, a condition that increases the risk of hip osteoarthritis (OA), and examined differences in hip morphology between adolescent athletes engaged in high- and low-impact sports, along with the prevalence rates by age group. Data from 577 adolescent athletes, including 354 soccer players (aged 9–15 years) and 223 runners (aged 9–18 years), were analyzed using dual X-ray absorptiometry to assess the femoral head–neck junction for cam-like morphology. The analysis revealed that at age 9, both sports groups showed flattening at the femoral head–neck junction. However, from age 10 onward, the groups diverged: soccer players exhibited more pronounced prominence, whereas runners showed a higher prevalence of flattening. Notably, at ages 14 and 15, runners displayed significantly higher rates of prominence morphology compared to soccer players (P = 0.001). These findings indicate that differences in hip joint development after age 9 between high- and low-impact sports may be attributed to varying mechanical stress on the hip during adolescence, which could influence the development of cam-like morphology. In light of these findings, runners may also be at an elevated risk of developing hip OA in the future, similar to the increased risk observed in soccer players.

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