Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration in collegiate rowers

Sekine, Chie; Hirayama, Kuniaki; Yanagisawa, Osamu; Okubo, Yu; Hangai, Mika; Imai, Atsushi; Kaneoka, Koji

doi:10.7600/jpfsm.3.525

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Based on the MRI studies ( Tertti et al, 1990 ; Baranto et al, 2006 ; Kaneoka et al, 2007 ; Kraft et al, 2009 ; Koyama et al, 2013 ; Sekine et al, 2014 ; Thoreson et al, 2017b ; Witwit et al, 2018 ), the most common abnormalities in athletes of individual sports were as follows: reduced disc signal, degenerated discs at various disc levels, ring apophyses injury, disc bulging, Schmorl’s nodes causing severe back pain, abnormal configuration of the vertebra, and alterations in spinal curvatures.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is There a Relationship Between Workload and Occurrence of Back Pain and Back Injuries in Athletes?

2020

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The back is subjected to a great deal of strain in many sports. Up to 20% of all sports injuries involve an injury to the lower back or neck. Repetitive or high impact loads (e.g., running, gymnastics, skiing) and weight loading (e.g., weightlifting) affect the lower back. Rotation of the torso (e.g., golf, tennis) causes damage to both, the lumbar and thoracic spine. The cervical spine is most commonly injured in contact sports (e.g., boxing, football). One of the factors that increases the odds of injuries in athletes is excessive and rapid increases in training loads. In spite of currently emerging evidence on this issue, little is known about the balance between physiological loading on the spine and athletic performance, versus overloading and back pain and/or injury in athletes. This scoping review aims (i) to map the literature that addresses the association between the training load and the occurrence of back pain and/or injury, especially between the Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR) and back problems in athletes of individual and team sports, and (ii) to identify gaps in existing literature and propose future research on this topic. A literature search of six electronic databases (i.e., MEDLINE, PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, SportDiscus, and CINAHL) was conducted. A total of 48 research articles met the inclusion criteria. Findings identified that fatigue of the trunk muscles induced by excessive loading of the spine is one of the sources of back problems in athletes. In particular, high training volume and repetitive motions are responsible for the high prevalence rates. The most influential are biomechanical and physiological variations underlying the spine, though stress-related psychological factors should also be considered. However, limited evidence exists on the relationship between the ACWR and back pain or non-contact back injuries in athletes from individual and team sports. This may be due to insufficiently specified the acute and chronic time window that varies according to sport-specific schedule of competition and training. More research is therefore warranted to elucidate whether ACWR, among other factors, is able to identify workloads that could increase the risk of back problems in athletes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is There a Relationship Between Workload and Occurrence of Back Pain and Back Injuries in Athletes?

2020

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“…It confirms the biological, and physiological, nature of cyclic compression for nuclear health. If in fact, the disc was truly adapting we would likely NOT see an overwhelming amount of research showing an extremely high prevalence of disc degeneration in rowers [19][20][21]. In fact, it is important to consider that the authors themselves said, "intensive athletic exercise at a professional level is associated with early degenerative changes, including disc herniation.…”

Section: Gag Content + Ivd Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the Intervertebral Disc Adapt to Load?

Horschig¹,

Lock²,

Williams³

2022

IJRASET

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Many in the scientific community have been debating the extent to which the spine can adapt. While it is widely accepted that vertebral bones can adapt and become stronger/denser with appropriately dosed loading, there are still many unanswered questions regarding intervertebral discs (IVDs). Recently, some are claiming that IVDs can adapt to stress under load and become stronger and more resilient over time based on the findings from a recent study “Imaging of exercise-induced spinal remodeling in elite rowers” by Frenken et al 2022 in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. The Frenken paper investigates the Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content of the IVD amongst elite rowers over the course of a training period. They found a temporary increase in this protein and believed that it indicates lumbar disc “remodeling effects” in response to training. This study does show that repetitive loading of the spine does support nutrient transport across the vertebral endplates and an increase in GAG. However, with research showing that a reduction in GAG content is associated with IVD degeneration (a negative adaptation), many have been led to believe the opposite to be accurate; an increase in GAG content means the disc is positively adapting. However, this assumption may be incorrect as it is based on an association, not causation. The proof of nutrient availability isn’t the same as mechanism utility. If in fact, the disc was truly adapting we would likely NOT see an overwhelming amount of research showing an extremely high prevalence of disc degeneration in rowers. The Frenken paper and many more do support the notion that the GAG content alters in response to certain stimuli; however, we can NOT conclude that a temporary increase in GAG content supports the hypothesis that the IVD adapts positively to load.

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“…In addition, signs of disc degeneration are associated with LBP [ 13 ]. A longitudinal study that investigated the relationship between LBP and intervertebral disc degeneration in collegiate rowers also reported that lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration is related to LBP [ 14 ]. Therefore, in this study, we focused on lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration associated with LBP in rowers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Does Not Affect Muscle Synergy for Rowing Activities

Sekine

Matsunaga

Okubo

et al. 2021

Applied Bionics and Biomechanics

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Rowers with disc degeneration may have motor control dysfunction during rowing. This study is aimed at clarifying the trunk and lower extremity muscle synergy during rowing and at comparing the muscle synergy between elite rowers with and without lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration. Twelve elite collegiate rowers (with disc degeneration, n = 6 ; without disc degeneration, n = 6 ) were included in this study. Midline sagittal images obtained by lumbar T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging were used to evaluate disc degeneration. Participants with one or more degenerated discs were classified into the disc degeneration group. A 2000 m race trial using a rowing ergometer was conducted. Surface electrodes were attached to the right rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, latissimus dorsi, multifidus, erector spinae, rectus femoris, and biceps femoris. The activity of the muscles was measured during one stroke immediately after 20% and 80% of the rowing trial. Nonnegative matrix factorization was used to extract the muscle synergies from the electromyographic data. To compare the muscle synergies, a scalar product (SP) evaluating synergy coincidence was calculated, and the muscle synergies were considered identical at SP > 75 % . Both groups had only one module in the 20% and 80% time points of the trial. At the 20% time point of the 2000 m rowing trial, the SP of the module was 99.8%. At the 80% time point, the SP of the module was 99.9%. The SP results indicate that, at 20% and 80% time points, both groups had the same module. The module showed a high contribution in all muscles. The activation coefficients indicated that the module was always highly activated throughout the rowing stroke in both groups. The trunk and lower extremity muscles are mobilized through the rowing stroke and maintain coordination during rowing. There was no difference in the muscle synergy between the rowers with and without lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration.

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Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration in collegiate rowers

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

Is There a Relationship Between Workload and Occurrence of Back Pain and Back Injuries in Athletes?

Is There a Relationship Between Workload and Occurrence of Back Pain and Back Injuries in Athletes?

Does the Intervertebral Disc Adapt to Load?

Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Does Not Affect Muscle Synergy for Rowing Activities

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