Retired professional footballers are at a significantly increased risk of several health problems including osteoarthritis, mental health conditions, and difficulties pertaining to suboptimal lifestyle choices. During this podcast, Sean Carmody talks to Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, a retired professional footballer and current Chief Medical Officer of FIFPro (World Players’ Union), about what can be done to reduce the risk of health issues for footballers in retirement. Dr Gouttebarge has led several initiatives to improve outcomes for footballers in retirement, including a pilot ‘exit health examination’ study in collaboration with the Dutch Football Association and Dutch Players’ Union.

Related Articles:
Prevalence of knee pain, radiographic osteoarthritis and arthroplasty in retired professional footballers compared with men in the general population: a cross-sectional study - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2017/10/25/bjsports-2017-097503
Perceptions of retired professional soccer players about the provision of support services before and after retirement - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/36/1/33
Prevalence and determinants of symptoms related to mental disorders in retired male professional footballers - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27285354
Lower extremity osteoarthritis is associated with lower health-related quality of life among retired professional footballers - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913847.2018.1451718