Practicing a sport at a high level: do we get more injured with age?

Roland-Garros is over, but certain events of the game have led us to ask ourselves some health questions. Remember: Novak Djokovic had to give up the tennis tournament after an injury to the medial meniscus of the right knee.

Does the Serb, who lost his world number 1 place, owe his misfortune to his age, 37 years ? We asked the question to Dr. Romain Rousseau, orthopedic surgeon in Paris.

More injuries with age?

Hit in the medial meniscus of his right knee during his round of 16 match against Francisco Cerundolo, Novak Djokovic had to withdraw from the rest of Roland-Garros.

The 37-year-old Serbian was operated on in a Parisian clinic. The convalescence should deprive him of the Wimbledon tournament. As for his participation in the Paris Olympic Games, it will depend on his recovery.

At 37, most top athletes have already retired. Novak Djokovic does not intend to leave the circuit right away. However, is he not exposed to a risk of repeated injuries?

Why injuries are more common

At the high-level athletes, does age contribute to the occurrence of a certain type of injury? “It’s very likely, according to several studies,” says Dr. Romain Rousseau, orthopedic surgeon and sports traumatologist in Paris.

Two types of injuries are observed in athletes:

• traumatic injuries, which occur following a fall for example
• degenerative microtraumatic lesions

These injuries are linked to accumulation of training hours, hours of competition, constant overuse. They lead to premature aging of the joints, especially in athletes at this level. »

A wear

Of course, physical activity is beneficial for your health. But at a certain dose and particularly if this overuse lasts for many yearsdegenerative microtraumatic lesions appear.

We observe a progression in the lesion, a fragility which sets in. The meniscus is suffering more and more with lesions that last over time. So, a fairly trivial trauma, or simply poor support, leads to decompensation of this lesion which then becomes very symptomatic.

Difficult to say that this is what happened to Novak Djokovic without consulting his file but “very often at 37 years old, on the court, the meniscal lesion is first degenerative wear. A meniscal fragment permanently irritates the joint and causes pain.”

Depending on the sport practiced at high intensity, this pain can occur in different joints, the most stressed. In tennis, athletes’ knees can indeed be weakened.

And recovery?

As for recovery, here too, age can be involved, in a good way or a bad way.

We know that the occurrence of a major injury in one’s career is often better tolerated with faster recovery when one is younger and at the start of one’s career.

With age, recovery time is sometimes longer due in particular to underlying lesions. Inflammation and residual pain lead to longer immobilization while young athletes have fewer microlesions and their capacity for tissue regeneration is often shorter.

Where older athletes win is on knowledge of their body. “They can recover more quickly after an intervention because they know how to manage constraints and adapt their body to these constraints, which allows them to optimize this recovery.”

With Destination Santé.

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