Abstract

A sample of 207 men from the construction industry was studied using an epidemiological technique of cross-sectional design to investigate if sport activities involving the arms increase the risk of developing shoulder tendinitis or osteoarthrosis of the acromioclavicular joint. The relative risk for shoulder tendinitis was estimated to be 9.5 on the right side, and 4.9 on the left side for a lifetime of sport activity exceeding 8399 h. Subjects who reported both extremely high physical load from work and from sports had an estimated relative risk for signs of shoulder tendinitis of 5.9 on the right side and 10.4 on the left side. High sport activity yielded relative risks of 4.6 on the right side and 2.8 on the left side for osteoarthrosis of the acromioclavicular joint. The combination of high activity in sports and high exposure to load lifted during work yielded relative risks for osteoarthrosis of the acromioclavicular joint of 12.5 on the right side and 6.7 on the left side. There seems to be an increased risk for shoulder tendinitis and acromioclavicular osteoarthrosis for subjects who have been extremely active in sports, and an even higher risk for those who have been extremely active in sports and also report a high exposure to load lifted during work.