Andreas Kopf, Werner Krutsch, Dominik Szymski, Johannes Weber, Volker Alt, Hermann Josef Bail, Niklas Engel, Johannes Rüther, Lorenz Huber
{"title":"Investigating Painkiller Use in Amateur Football: A Coach's Perspective.","authors":"Andreas Kopf, Werner Krutsch, Dominik Szymski, Johannes Weber, Volker Alt, Hermann Josef Bail, Niklas Engel, Johannes Rüther, Lorenz Huber","doi":"10.3390/jpm14091003","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objectives: </strong>Painkiller use in amateur sports and, especially, in football is increasingly being discussed, but the scientific data on this field are very limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of painkiller use in amateur football from the perspective of coaches, as well as to determine how and to which extent coaches can influence their teams in terms of painkiller use and prevention.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using an online questionnaire, a cross-sectional analysis of painkiller use in German amateur football from the 4th league to the lowest amateur classes was carried out from the perspective of team coaches. A total of 628 participants were contacted, and 400 (63.7%) completed the questionnaire completely and were therefore included in the evaluation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 400 participating team coaches in amateur football, 369 (92.3%) were male and 31 (7.7%) were female. The coaches reported that 36.2% (SD = 29.1) of their players have used painkillers at some point due to football-related pain in their career. The majority of coaches believed that the use of painkillers is not compatible with competition (74%), and even more believed that it is not compatible with football training (90.8%). Furthermore, 56.2% of the coaches themselves had already taken painkillers in their own football career for football-related pain, and 64% had already bought over-the-counter painkillers without a prescription. The use of painkillers increased in the higher playing levels. The availability of painkillers in first aid kits was reported by around 60%, but they were reported as freely accessible in the dressing room by only 10% of the coaches.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This is the first study to describe the painkiller use in amateur football from the perspective of coaches. The prevalence of painkiller use in this study was found to be significantly lower than what is indicated in the data from the existing literature. The majority of coaches see the use of painkillers during games and training as incompatible, even though there is a large proportion of coaches who have already bought over-the-counter painkillers for football-related pain. As the first scientific analysis of team coaches, this study provides fundamental data for the prevention of excessive painkiller use in amateur football.</p>","PeriodicalId":16722,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Personalized Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11432916/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Personalized Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14091003","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background/objectives: Painkiller use in amateur sports and, especially, in football is increasingly being discussed, but the scientific data on this field are very limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of painkiller use in amateur football from the perspective of coaches, as well as to determine how and to which extent coaches can influence their teams in terms of painkiller use and prevention.
Methods: Using an online questionnaire, a cross-sectional analysis of painkiller use in German amateur football from the 4th league to the lowest amateur classes was carried out from the perspective of team coaches. A total of 628 participants were contacted, and 400 (63.7%) completed the questionnaire completely and were therefore included in the evaluation.
Results: Of the 400 participating team coaches in amateur football, 369 (92.3%) were male and 31 (7.7%) were female. The coaches reported that 36.2% (SD = 29.1) of their players have used painkillers at some point due to football-related pain in their career. The majority of coaches believed that the use of painkillers is not compatible with competition (74%), and even more believed that it is not compatible with football training (90.8%). Furthermore, 56.2% of the coaches themselves had already taken painkillers in their own football career for football-related pain, and 64% had already bought over-the-counter painkillers without a prescription. The use of painkillers increased in the higher playing levels. The availability of painkillers in first aid kits was reported by around 60%, but they were reported as freely accessible in the dressing room by only 10% of the coaches.
Conclusions: This is the first study to describe the painkiller use in amateur football from the perspective of coaches. The prevalence of painkiller use in this study was found to be significantly lower than what is indicated in the data from the existing literature. The majority of coaches see the use of painkillers during games and training as incompatible, even though there is a large proportion of coaches who have already bought over-the-counter painkillers for football-related pain. As the first scientific analysis of team coaches, this study provides fundamental data for the prevention of excessive painkiller use in amateur football.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Personalized Medicine (JPM; ISSN 2075-4426) is an international, open access journal aimed at bringing all aspects of personalized medicine to one platform. JPM publishes cutting edge, innovative preclinical and translational scientific research and technologies related to personalized medicine (e.g., pharmacogenomics/proteomics, systems biology). JPM recognizes that personalized medicine—the assessment of genetic, environmental and host factors that cause variability of individuals—is a challenging, transdisciplinary topic that requires discussions from a range of experts. For a comprehensive perspective of personalized medicine, JPM aims to integrate expertise from the molecular and translational sciences, therapeutics and diagnostics, as well as discussions of regulatory, social, ethical and policy aspects. We provide a forum to bring together academic and clinical researchers, biotechnology, diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies, health professionals, regulatory and ethical experts, and government and regulatory authorities.