Genes and Musculoskeletal Soft-Tissue Injuries.

There is mounting evidence suggesting a genetic contribution to the susceptibility of sustaining a musculoskeletal soft-tissue injury. To date, more than 70 loci have been implicated in several injury profiles. The genes implicated through these loci encode a broad spectrum of matrix proteins including collagens and non-collagens. The large majority of these studies have followed a candidate gene case-control study design. A small proportion of these loci have been repeated in independent studies, of which some have included different musculoskeletal injuries. However, the large majority of these studies are underpowered to detect contributions of small effect sizes (odds ratio <2.0). It is therefore critical that large data sets are collected and that consortia are established to effectively pool resources to understand the biological significance of these genetic loci and risk susceptibility. We are in the era of omics and high-throughput technologies but it is only through collaborations that we will realize the clinical significance of the genomic revolution and its application to musculoskeletal soft-tissue injury susceptibility.