Relationship between low back pain and competitive sports activities during youth

At the University of Tsukuba in Japan, 4667 freshman completed a questionnaire concerning LBP and their experience in sports activities which was provided as part of a medical check when enrolling at the university. The response rate of freshman completing the questionnaire included 2620 males and 2047 females with a mean age of 18.

The focus of the questionnaire was Low Back Pain experienced during the student’s lifetime, school absence due to Low Back Pain, incidence of pain and numbness in the lower extremities, Low Back Pain during the past 4 weeks, and quitting competitive sports because of Low Back Pain. Competitive sports experience at the elementary, junior high and/or senior high school level was also included in the questionnaire, in addition to characterization of the type of sports played and length of playing career.

Pertinent Results Include:

* 60.5% of male and 63.0% of female students had experienced LBP during their lifetime

* Duration and excessive exposure to competitive sports during youth was associated with Low Back Pain and symptoms in the lower extremities

* Another key finding was that the longer the duration of participation in competitive sports is not only associated significantly with Low Back Pain during the students’ lifetimes but also the greater the proportion of school absence due to Low Back Pain, greater proportion of lower extremity pain and numbness associated with Low Back Pain and the dropout from competitive sports due to Low Back Pain.

* The authors suggest that type of sport was associated with LBP – expanding on this by saying that certain sports require specific postures and motions that may affect the onset of symptoms.

* In this study, all 8 sports groups were found to have experienced LBP at a significantly higher rate than the NO group, and volleyball was the most prevalent sport for experiencing LBP followed by baseball, track and field, basketball, swimming, kendo, tennis and soccer.

Note: As this study was conducted in Japan, sports like football and rugby, which would probably rank very highly also for promoting higher incidences of lower back pain later in life were not reviewed.

Authors: Mika H et al.
Affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
Publication Information: American Journal of Sports Medicine 2010; 38(4): 791-796.