Analgesic Use in Sports-Results of a Systematic Literature Review
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Consumption of medication to alleviate pain is widespread in Germany. Around 1.9 million men and women take analgesics every day; some 1.6 million persons are addicted to painkillers. Analgesic use is thought also to be common in sports, even in the absence of pain. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of painkiller use among athletes.
METHODS
In line with the PRISMA criteria and the modified PICO(S) criteria, a systematic literature review was registered (Openscienceframework, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/VQ94D) and carried out in PubMed and SURF. The publications identified (25 survey studies, 12 analyses of doping control forms, 18 reviews) were evaluated in standardized manner using the Newcastle‒ Ottawa Scale (NOS) and AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews).
RESULTS
Analgesic use is widespread in elite sports. The prevalence varies between 2.8% (professional tennis) and 54.2% (professional soccer). Pain medication is also taken prophylactically in the absence of symptoms in some non-elite competitive sports. In the heterogeneous field of amateur sports the data are sparse and there is no reliable evidence of wide-reaching consumption of painkillers. Among endurance athletes, 2.1% of over 50 000 persons stated that they used analgesics at least once each month in connection with sports.
CONCLUSION
Analgesic use has become a problem in many areas of professional/competitive sports, while the consumption of pain medication…
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