Two recent systematic reviews showed the prevalence of OA was high among former elite athletes. Among retired professional footballers, the prevalence of knee OA ranged between 40 and 80 %, and the prevalence of ankle OA between 12 and 17 % . Among former elite athletes from various sport disciplines (ice hockey, basketball, handball, track and field athletes, power sport athletes, weight lifters, shooters and non-impact sport athletes), the prevalence of hip OA ranged from 2 to 60 %, and from 16 to 95 % for knee OA [12, 21]. OA in retired professional footballers causes pain, discomfort and functional limitations. It has been also suggested that OA could have an adverse impact on mental health: 37 % of the retired professional footballers suffering from OA reported moderate or severe problems related to anxiety/depression . Recent studies have shown that symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD) such as distress, anxiety/depression, sleeping disturbance and adverse alcohol behaviour are largely reported after a career in elite sports. However, the extent of the association between OA and symptoms of CMD in former elite athletes has not been established yet [13, 15, 18].