Evaluation of the lumbar multifidus in rowers during spinal stabilization exercise

Abstract

Lumbar stabilization is important in high performance rowing due to the high incidence of low back pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the lumbar stabilizers muscles performance during an exercise of spinal segmental stabilization and in lumbar multifidus muscle thickness in rowing athletes trained and untrained for this exercise. Nine rowers trained with lumbar stabilization (TLS) and eight rowers without training (CON) participated in the study. Lumbar stabilization performance and multifidus muscle thickness were measured during a maximal voluntary isometric contraction. Lumbar stabilization performance was higher (p=0.015) in the TLS (mean 18.38 ± 8.00 mmHg) compared to the CON (9.31 ± 4.91 mmHg) group. Muscle thickness variation was higher (p=0.023) in the TLS (6.92% ± 3.98) compared to the CON (2.81% ± 1.40) group. Lumbar stabilization training is an efficient clinical tool to strengthen lumbar muscles and may help to prevent low back pain in rowers.