The epidemiology of low back disorders in athletes

Abstract

Low back disorders may have a serious effect on an athlete’s performance. In previous reports, low back pain has been particularly associated with sports activities during youth. In addition, low back disorders such as lumbar disk degeneration have been associated with competitive sports activities. Furthermore, we reported that the incidence of lumbar disk degeneration among baseball players and swimmers was significantly higher than that of non-athletes. The relationships between positions in sports and low back disorders have also been also examined. In this chapter we review these relationships, and also examine low back disorders of Japanese top athletes.