Arthritis: How sports stars can learn to reduce risk

Sports-mad Ciaran Burns was 22 years old when he was diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in his right knee, Kazinform reported with the reference to BBC.

For a semi-professional basketball player who had represented the Republic of Ireland at junior level, the news was devastating.

"At my age I didn't think anything like that was going to bother me.

"I'd been playing sport competitively since I was 10 years old. It was very hard to give up."

Ciaran joins a long list of sportsmen and women whose careers have been curtailed or ended by this kind of injury.

England cricketer Andrew Flintoff and Spurs defender Ledley King's chronic knee problems are probably the best-known examples.

Professional sports people get early arthritis because of the frequent trauma to their joints"

Dr Tom Saw

It's not surprising that athletes place great physical pressure on their bodies, but scientists now want to find out how far they can go before risking long-term injury.

A new national research centre, funded by £3m ($4.7m) from Arthritis Research UK, may provide the answer.

Prof Alan Silman, medical director of the charity, say there are lots of unknowns in this area.

"We need to know how to achieve a balance between exercise that is good and exercise that is harmful.

"In general, using your joints is good because cartilage and bone need the stimulus of exercise.

"Even a little bit of damage is okay because it will repair, but when damage is outweighing the repair mechanism, then it becomes something else."

What it tends to become is osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis affects the joints, causing pain, stiffness and reduced mobility - and it affects the lives of around nine million people in the UK.

Although it occurs more frequently in older people, young people and children can still be affected.