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Saturday, December 1, 2007
Athletes Learn To Manage Low Back Pain with Physical Therapy
Central Oklahoma, OK
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By: Dale A Boren Jr. PT, MPT
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The lower part of the back, when healthy and in good condition, functions with such versatility that people can engage in a variety of demanding, high-level sports.
The low back provides the base of support for dynamic power during a baseball player’s swing, a boxer’s uppercut, and a power lifter’s squat. It provides the foundation for a football player’s stance and a cyclist’s tuck.
However, when the low back does not function properly, it can be a source of disabling pain. As a result, low back pain (LBP) may be responsible for an athlete missing playing time. To return to the game, the athlete may need help to regain full range of motion and strength.
LBP among athletes is common, with estimates of prevalence ranging from 1 percent to more than 30 percent of adolescent and professional athletes. Many factors account for LBP among athletes, including type of sport, gender, frequency and intensity of training, variation in technique, flexibility, and equipment.
The greatest predictor of future LBP is a history of previous LBP. Athletes with a prior low-back injury have three times the risk of another episode. Therefore, proper management of low back injury is extremely important to minimize the chance of recurrence, chronic disability, and loss of playing time.
The term low back pain actually refers to a set of symptoms rather than a specific diagnosis. The reason for the widespread use of this term is the difficulty, in many cases, of identifying which part of the low back actually is injured, inflamed, or abnormal and is therefore responsible for the symptoms. Oftentimes the only certainty may be the symptoms themselves, rather than the cause of the symptoms.
In the absence of a specific diagnosis that implicates the cause of LBP, treatment of LBP is challenging for all concerned. Even a diagnosis that identifies a structural abnormality presents challenges since not all such abnormalities cause symptoms, and the symptoms that are present may not arise from the structural abnormality.
Nevertheless, two structural abnormalities that are commonly associated with LBP among athletes are degenerative disc disease and lumbar spondylolysis. Other diagnoses that may be associated with LBP among athletes include lumbar strain/sprain, spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, spinal fracture, disc injury, and spinal stenosis.
Given so many potential causes of LBP but such difficulty in pinpointing a diagnosis, what should athletes do when they experience LBP?
1. See a doctor to receive a thorough diagnostic work-up.
2. If the main diagnosis is LBP and the doctor recommends physical therapy, then ask for a physical therapist that has advanced degrees and specializations in the area of manual therapy and sports medicine.
The physical therapists at PTC are highly trained in manual therapy, sports medicine and exercise, and have many ways to relieve LBP and to get an athlete back in action.
If you have questions about this article or would like to speak to a physical therapist, visit our website at www.ptcentral.org and contact the PTC clinic nearest you.
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