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Low back pain in college athletes. A
prospective study correlating lower extremity overuse or acquired
ligamentous laxity with low back pain. |
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AUTHORS: |
Nadler SF; Wu KD; Galski T; Feinberg JH |
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AUTHOR AFFILIATION: |
University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey, Newark, USA. |
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SOURCE: |
Spine 1998 Apr 1;23(7):828-33
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CITATION IDS: |
PMID: 9563115 UI: 98224216 |
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ABSTRACT: |
STUDY DESIGN: A prospective evaluation of
the incidence of low back pain in college athletes was undertaken. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate
prospectively leg length discrepancy, hip flexor tightness, and lower extremity acquired
laxity or overuse as predictive factors for low back pain in college athletes. SUMMARY OF
BACKGROUND DATA: A pilot study found an association between low back pain and the factors
to be studied. Several allusions to the kinetic chain theory appear in the literature, but
little prospective research has been done in examining the effects of lower extremity
involvement on the back. METHODS: Two- hundred fifty-seven college athletes representing
nine varsity sports were screened during a preseason sports physical examination. Measures
of flexibility, ligamentous stability, leg length discrepancy, and overuse syndromes were
recorded. Athletes were observed throughout the ensuing year for low back pain requiring
treatment by the athletic trainer. Those athletes with low back pain as the result of
direct trauma to the region were excluded from the data. RESULTS: Twenty-four athletes
(9.3%) received treatment for low back pain. Thirteen of 87 women (15%) compared with 11
of 170 men (6%) required treatment for low back pain (P = 0.048). Of 57 athletes with
lower extremity acquired laxity or overuse, low back pain developed in 14 (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Athletes with lower extremity acquired ligamentous laxity or overuse may be
at risk for the development of noncontact low back pain during athletic competition.
Female athletes with lower extremity involvement appeared to have a higher incidence of
low back pain treatment compared with their male counterparts. Inflexibility of the lower
extremities or leg length discrepancy were not associated with future low back pain
treatment. |
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MAIN MESH HEADINGS: |
Ligaments/*injuries
Ligaments/*physiopathology
Low Back Pain/*epidemiology
*Sports |
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ADDITIONAL MESH HEADINGS: |
Adult
Ankle Joint/physiology
Female
Hip Joint/physiology
Human
Knee Joint/physiology
Male
Predictive Value of Tests
Prospective Studies |
