(Press-News.org) Contact information: Jim Ritter
jritter@lumc.edu
708-216-2445
Loyola University Health System
Study finds high rate of lower back injuries in young athletes
Injuries may put athletes at risk for long-term back problems
MAYWOOD, Il. – Lower back injuries are the third most common injuries suffered in athletes under age 18, according to a study presented by Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine physician Neeru Jayanthi, MD.
Many injuries are severe enough to sideline young athletes for one-to-six months, and put them at future risk for long-term back problems.
Jayanthi presented findings Oct. 28 at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando.
The study included more than 1,200 young athletes who suffered 843 injuries. Lower back injuries accounted for 127 injuries (15.1 percent of the total). The only injuries more common were knee (31.1 percent) and ankle (16 percent). Other common injuries include head injuries and concussions (13.4 percent), shoulder (10.7 percent) and hip (6.4 percent).
Sixty-one percent of back injuries were less serious, such as injuries in the lumbar facet and sacroiliac joints. But 39 percent were serious, including stress fractures and complications of stress fractures such as spondyloysis and spondylolisthesis.
"If a young athlete has lower back pain for two weeks or longer, it is imperative that the athlete be evaluated by a sports medicine physician," Jayanthi said. "If a serious injury such as a stress fracture is not properly treated and does not heal properly, the athlete could be at risk for long-term back problems."
Jayanthi said young athletes are at risk of back injury from hyperextension (arching of the lower back) and other improper techniques. Insufficient strength of the abdominal and back extensor muscles also may contribute to injuries. The greatest risk appears to be the amount of intensive training done by a developing young athlete.
The study found that young athletes with lower back injuries tended to spend more time playing sports than other kids who were injured. Those with back injuries spent an average of 12.7 hours per week playing sports, while the average for all kids who were injured was 11.3 hours per week, said study co-author Lara Dugas, PhD.
Between 2010 and 2013, Jayanthi, Dugas and colleagues at Loyola and Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago enrolled athletes ages 8 to 18 who had come in for sports physicals or treatment for injuries. Researchers are following each athlete for up to three years.
The study confirmed preliminary findings, reported earlier, that specializing in a single sport increases the risk of overall injury, even when controlling for an athlete's age and hours per week of sports activity. "We should be cautious about intense specialization in one sport before and during adolescence," Jayanthi said.
Jayanthi offers the following tips to reduce the risk of injuries in young athletes:
If there's pain in a high-risk area such as the lower back, elbow or shoulder, the athlete should take one day off. If pain persists, take one week off.
If symptoms last longer than two weeks, the athlete should be evaluated by a sports medicine physician.
In racket sports, athletes should evaluate their form and strokes to limit extending their backs regularly by more than a small amount (20 degrees).
Enroll in a structured injury-prevention program taught by qualified professionals.
Do not spend more hours per week than your age playing sports. (Younger children are developmentally immature and may be less able to tolerate physical stress.)
Do not spend more than twice as much time playing organized sports as you spend in gym and unorganized play.
Do not specialize in one sport before late adolescence.
Do not play sports competitively year round. Take a break from competition for one-to-three months each year (not necessarily consecutively).
Take at least one day off per week from training in sports.
###
The current study was funded by two research grants from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Jayanthi is a member of an AMSSM committee that is writing guidelines on preventing and treating overuse injuries in young athletes.
Jayanthi is Medical Director of Primary Care Sports Medicine at Loyola. He is an associate professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Dugas is a research assistant professor in Loyola's Department of Public Health Sciences.
Other co-authors are Cynthia LaBella, MD, and Brittany Patrick of Lurie Children's hospital. Loyola medical students and research assistants who assisted in the study are Dan Fisher, Courtney Pinkham, Erin Feller and Peter Linn.
The study was originally supported by Stritch School of Medicine's Student Training in Approaches to Research (STAR) program.
Study finds high rate of lower back injuries in young athletes
Injuries may put athletes at risk for long-term back problems
2013-10-29
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Local communities produce high-quality forest monitoring data, rivals that of professional foresters
2013-10-29
Local communities produce high-quality forest monitoring data, rivals that of professional foresters
Study finds half of UN projects do not engage local communities in monitoring, argues REDD+ projects that integrate community participation are more ...
Smokers worldwide more likely to think about kicking their habit on Mondays
2013-10-29
Smokers worldwide more likely to think about kicking their habit on Mondays
Findings published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2013)—Forget New Year's; a study published today in the Journal ...
Scientists wary of shale oil and gas as US energy salvation
2013-10-29
Scientists wary of shale oil and gas as US energy salvation
Boulder, Colo., USA - After 10 years of production, shale gas in the United States cannot be considered commercially viable, according to several scientists presenting at the Geological Society of America meeting ...
Breakthrough in study of aluminum should yield new technological advances
2013-10-29
Breakthrough in study of aluminum should yield new technological advances
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon today announced a scientific advance that has eluded researchers for more than 100 years ...
Super-thin membranes clear the way for chip-sized pumps
2013-10-29
Super-thin membranes clear the way for chip-sized pumps
The ability to shrink laboratory-scale processes to automated chip-sized systems would revolutionize biotechnology and medicine. For example, inexpensive and highly portable devices that process ...
Obese women alter diets in response to additional calories from soft drinks
2013-10-29
Obese women alter diets in response to additional calories from soft drinks
Obese women voluntarily reduce what they eat in response to additional soft drinks being added to their diets – a new 4 week study finds(1).
41 obese women took part in the study, co-ordinated ...
Snakes on the brain: Are primates hard-wired to see snakes?
2013-10-29
Snakes on the brain: Are primates hard-wired to see snakes?
Was the evolution of high-quality vision in our ancestors driven by the threat of snakes? Work by neuroscientists in Japan and Brazil is supporting the theory originally put forward by Lynne Isbell, ...
Eliminating unexplained traffic jams
2013-10-29
Eliminating unexplained traffic jams
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Everybody's experienced it: a miserable backup on the freeway, which you think must be caused by an accident or construction, but which at some point thins out for no apparent reason.
Such "traffic ...
Sun continues to emit solar flares
2013-10-29
Sun continues to emit solar flares
After emitting its first significant solar flares since June 2013 earlier in the week, the sun continued to produce mid-level and significant solar flares on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 2013.
Solar flares are powerful ...
Study challenges soil testing for potassium and the fertilizer value of potassium chloride
2013-10-29
Study challenges soil testing for potassium and the fertilizer value of potassium chloride
URBANA, Ill. – In the chemical age of agriculture that began in the 1960s, potassium chloride (KCl), ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Transnational electoral participation of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the US
A new method to build more energy-efficient memory devices for a sustainable data future
Freely levitating rotor spins out ultraprecise sensors for classical and quantum physics
‘Chinese lantern’ structure shifts into more than a dozen shapes for various applications
Towards light-controlled electronic components
Tiny architects, titanic climate impact: scientists call for October 10 to become International Coccolithophore Day
Stress sensitivity makes suicidal thoughts more extreme and persistent among the university population
Lessons from Ascension’s shark troubles could help boost conservation
Fire provides long-lasting benefits to bird populations in Sierra Nevada National Parks
Menstrual cycle affects women’s reaction time but not as much as being active
Housing associations more effective than government in supporting unemployed in deprived areas
Biochar helps composting go greener by cutting greenhouse gas emissions
Ulrich named president-elect of the AACI
Multitasking makes you more likely to fall for phishing emails
Researchers solve model that can improve sustainable design, groundwater management, nuclear waste storage, and more
Parched soils can spark hot drought a nation away
Uncovering new physics in metals manufacturing
Sped-up evolution may help bacteria take hold in gut microbiome, UCLA-led research team finds
The dose-dependent effects of dissolved biochar on C. elegans: Insights into the physiological and transcriptomic responses
New research reveals genetic link to most common pediatric bone cancer
Research conducted during 2024 eclipse reveals importance of light on bird behavior
Why does female fertility decline so fast? The key is the ovary
Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds
Europe’s largest bats hunt and eat migrating birds on the wing, high in the sky
China’s emerging AI regulation could foster an open and safe future for AI
The secret to naked mole-rat’s longevity: Enhanced DNA repair
Acidic tumor environment promotes survival and growth of cancer cells
New biosensor tracks plants’ immune hormone in real time
New study finds gaps in REDD+ forest carbon offsets with most overstating climate impacts
Mystery solved: How Europe’s largest bat catches and eats passerines mid-air
[Press-News.org] Study finds high rate of lower back injuries in young athletesInjuries may put athletes at risk for long-term back problems