Saina Nehwal battles arthritis: Are athletes at a higher risk of osteoarthritis?

The world of sports glorifies strength, energy and vigour, but years of being on the sports field can take a physical toll on athletes. India’s star shuttler Saina Nehwal, who became the first first-ever badminton player from the country to clinch an Olympic medal in 2012, has revealed she is struggling with arthritis. She says the stress on her knees has impacted her training, and it may become the reason she retires from the game soon.

Saina Nehwal began playing badminton at the tender of age of 9. She is currently 34, and has faced her fair share of injuries during her glorious career, which also saw her becoming a World No.1 player.

My knee is not very good… I have arthritis: Saina Nehwal

The Haryana girl made the revelation about her health in a podcast with shooting legend Gagan Narang. She said, “The knee is not very good. I have arthritis. My cartilage has gone to a bad state. It is very difficult to push for 8-9 hours. How will you challenge the best players in the world in such a state? I think I will have to accept it somewhere. Because 2 hours of training is not good enough to play with the highest level of players and get the desired results.”

As a matter of fact, Saina Nehwal has not participated in competitive badminton since playing at the Singapore Open in 2023. While she did not directly talk about her retirement plans, Saina took a moment to mull over the “short career” of a sportsperson.

“I am also thinking about it (retirement). It will be sad because it is like a job that a normal person does. Obviously, a sportsperson’s career is always a short one. I started at the age of 9. I will be 35 next year. So, I have also had a long career. And I am very proud of that. I have broken my body to a great extent. I am happy with what I have done and given it all. Will assess how I feel by the end of this year,” she said during the podcast.

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Saina Nehwal’s unparalleled achievements in badminton also led her to be honoured by India’s civilian honour, the Padma Shree. She has previously won two medals in Commonwealth Games in 2010 and 2018, as well as a bronze medal in Olympics 2012. Saina has competed in 3 Olympics, but given her health condition, she has acknowledged that you’ve got to give up when your “body is telling that you are not doing well and you have injuries”.

Are athletes more prone to arthritis?

Athletes go through a lot of wear and tear during their training and playing years. Some of the world’s top sportspersons have been through career-threatening injuries. Some could fight them and make a comeback, whereas others chose to put their career on the backburner.

Particularly those athletes involved in high-impact sports are often at an increased risk of developing arthritis earlier than the general population.

Orthopaedician Dr Rajat Chauhan, a sports and exercise medicine specialist, tells Health Shots, “When there’s more load on a joint, people are going to be more prone to the risk of osteoarthritis. But with proper muscle alignment courtesy stretching, strength training and conditioning, as well as rehab, excessive loading can be prevented. If there is not enough rest and recovery, there can always be higher chances of osteoarthritis – whether it is for someone who is running, playing a sport at a elite level or even a person who does not move enough.”

Having said that, all sportspersons do not have osteoarthritis, asserts the expert. A lot of it boils down to their exercise and injury management programs. When it comes to athletes, “short gains of winning a match could be messing around with long-term losses”, says Dr Chauhan, adding that sportspersons should spare a thought about their quality of life once their career ends.

Sports injuries are common in athletes

Injuries to shoulders, elbows, knees, legs and ankles are very common among athletes across disciplines. These are often called the hidden costs of high performance on the sports field.

Exposing joints to repetitive stress, especially in high-impact sports such as football, basketball, and running, can accelerate the wear and tear of cartilage, the tissue that cushions the joints. Over time, this can lead to osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, characterised by the breakdown of cartilage and the subsequent rubbing of bones against each other.

According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, one in four retired Olympians faced physician-diagnosed osteoarthritis (OA). Injury was associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis and pain at the knee, hip and ankle. Also, the likelihood of knee and hip osteoarthritis after injury, was found to be greater for Olympians compared with the general population.

Ligament tears itself are sometimes responsible for the onset of osteoarthritis. Research from the American Journal of Sports Medicine that individuals with a history of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are at a higher risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.