Abstract
The severity and frequency of joint loading are principal factors for the development of joint disorders, which is characterized by the articular cartilage damage. Thus, sports with repetitive impact and torsional loading on the joints enhance the risk of articular cartilage degeneration, and result in the clinical symptoms of osteoarthritis. Among sports with various different frequency and intensity of joint loading, soccer is categorized as a representative with high levels of repetitive impact and torsional loading on the joint. Interestingly, nutritional supplements such as glucosamine are often administered for “joint health” of sports-related cartilage injuries (osteoarthritis) in athletes. Moreover, reliable and sensitive biomarkers have been recently developed as indicators of cartilage metabolism in subjects with joint disorders. Thus, in this paper, the effect of glucosamine administration on the cartilage metabolism in soccer players, as determined by the markers for type II collagen degradation (CTX-II and C2C) and synthesis (CPII), are presented.
