HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Soler, T. Articles by Calderón, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Soler, T. Articles by Calderón, C. Related Collections Epidemiology Spine

The Prevalence of Spondylolysis in the Spanish Elite Athlete

Department of Sports Orthopedics, National Center of Sports Medicine, C.A.R.I.C.D. Consejo Superior De Deportes, Madrid, Spain

* Address correspondence and reprint requests to Tomás Soler and Carmen Calderón, National Center of Sports Medicine, C.A.R.I.C.D. Consejo Superior De Deportes, Calle El Greco s/n. 28040 Madrid, Spain

The diagnosis of spondylolysis is a major cause of concern for patients and their families, especially when the patients are young athletes with promising futures in their sports. In this study, 3152 case histories of high-level athletes were evaluated to determine which sports had a higher prevalence of spondylolysis. The overall percentage of spondylolysis among athletes in this study (8.02%) was not very much higher than that among the general population, which varies between 3% and 7%. However, when each sport was considered separately we found much higher values for some sports, with the highest percentages occurring in throwing sports (26.67%), artistic gymnastics (16.96%), and rowing (16.88%). The analysis of the biomechanical movements involved in the sports with greater prevalence of spondylolysis has led us to include the element of torsion against resistance as another possible causative factor for spondylolysis that should be added to the already known causative mechanisms, lumbar hyperextension and rotation. We have divided the sports into three risk groups according to the prevalence of spondylolysis shown and the characteristics of the sample, and we recommend systematic radiological examination of the lumbar spine in athletes considered to be at greater risk of developing spondylolysis.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. B. Morrison and V. R. Schoffl Physiological responses to rock climbing in young climbers Br. J. Sports Med., December 1, 2007; 41(12): 852 - 861. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L Masci, J Pike, F Malara, B Phillips, K Bennell, P Brukner, C Standaert, and L Micheli Use of the one-legged hyperextension test and magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of active spondylolysis * Commentary * Commentary Br. J. Sports Med., November 1, 2006; 40(11): 940 - 946. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A Ruiz-Cotorro, R Balius-Matas, A E Estruch-Massana, J Vilaro Angulo, and L Masci Spondylolysis in young tennis players * Commentary. Br. J. Sports Med., May 1, 2006; 40(5): 441 - 446. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Ranson, R. W. Kerslake, A. F. Burnett, M. E. Batt, and S. Abdi Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic professional fast bowlers in cricket J Bone Joint Surg Br, August 1, 2005; 87-B(8): 1111 - 1116. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P L Gregory, M E Batt, and R W Kerslake Comparing spondylolysis in cricketers and soccer players Br. J. Sports Med., December 1, 2004; 38(6): 737 - 742. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. M. Bono Low-Back Pain in Athletes J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., February 1, 2004; 86(2): 382 - 396. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C J Standaert and S A Herring Spondylolysis: a critical review Br. J. Sports Med., December 1, 2000; 34(6): 415 - 422. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]