The impact of football attendance on genu varum

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the genu varum levels of football players between the ages of 10 and 18, and to compare them with non-athletes of the same age groups. It was also aimed to evaluate the development of genu varum depending on ages. Method: Body length, body weight, body fat percentage, body mass index, intercondylar distance (IC), right knee Q angle (SAQ) and left knee Q angle (SOQ) values of 453 volunteers participating in this study were measured. The caliper (0.01 mm.) was used for intercondylar distance measurements. Through examination of the photographs of participants, Q angle measurements were carried out. Intergroup and intragroup comparisons were made through dividing football players and non-athletes into three groups according to their ages as follows; 10-12, 13-15, 16-18 years. In this study, following statistical tests were applied; Mann-Whitney U test in order to evaluate the difference between the groups, Kruskal Wallis test when more than two groups were compared, Spearman-Brown Correlation test to examine correlation between data, and Cohen's Kappa coefficient to determine agreement between observers. SPSS 24 package program was used to analyze data. Results: IC, SAQ and SOQ values for all age groups of football players participating in this study were higher than non-athletes'. Moreover, the IC values were noted as increasing significantly and remarkably depending on ages of football players particularly. When the mean values of measurements of non-athletes and football players were compared; IC value was 3.12 ± 7.10 mm and 19.70 ± 18.01 mm, SAQ value was 11.01 ± 2.00° and 13.60 ± 2.68°, and SOQ value was 10.82 ± 1.96° and 13.37 ± 2.26° respectively. Conclusion: As a result of this study, it was determined that participation in football increased Q angle values and IC values significantly. IC values of football players were noted higher than non-athletes' for all age groups.