£3m centre to treat sports injuries

It is hoped the National Centre for Arthritis from Sports and Exercise will support generations of British sporting talent past, present and future, plus anyone else who has a related problem.

Beijing 2008 Olympic rowing champion Zac Purchase, plus diver Edna Child and hockey player John Peake, who both competed at the 1948 Olympics, have provided wide-ranging information.

Anything from both modern-day and post-war diets, concerns about pain and injury, limited mobility and joint problems in ageing bodies have been discussed.

Another 3,000 members of the public have told researchers about their health concerns.

With £3 million funding over five years now confirmed from Arthritis Research UK, the centre is also set to look at how to manage injuries, review recovery techniques and possible surgical or medicinal solutions.

A UK-based location has yet to be decided.

Purchase, who aims to defend his Olympic lightweight double sculls title at London 2012, said: "For me it is also about looking long-term at the rest of my life.

"I very much enjoy being part of a sport which I have been very successful but I am very aware that the strain we put our bodies through is not necessarily good long term.

"I would very much like to get to an old age and know that I do not have to worry about having to hobble about on crutches or what could be in store for me."

Comparing the training and technology of Olympic athletes, both past and present, will be interesting and useful, he feels.

Purchase said: "It is a bit of a catch 22. Being able to compare the effects of then and now and looking at the technology has helped or may even have hindered because we can train more and harder now than before."

Hockey player Mr Peake, 86, who won a silver medal at the 1948 Games, said he was "aghast" at what today's top athletes do to try and be the best.

Mr Peake believes the centre is "an excellent idea" that could potentially provide different generations with useful information.

He said: "I think communication is also really important, so that all those involved in sport know about it, athletes and trainers alike, to ensure they are helping to prevent sports injuries in the long run."

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, affecting 8.5 million people in the UK.

Experts from sports and exercise medicine specialists, physiotherapists, rheumatologists and the NHS will be involved in the centre.

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: "It is vital to understand the cause and treatment of sports injuries so this work could not be more important."

An improved prevention and management infrastructure is "one of the key legacies of the 2012 London Olympic Games", according to Professor Fares Haddad, clinical director for surgical specialities at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Alan Silman, Arthritis Research UK's medical director, said: "The new centre will, for the first time, co-ordinate the work of leading experts to undertake and share research into the risks associated with specific sports and specific body types, and how best to reduce these risks and to participate in sport healthily."