Open AccessThe Relationship Between Low Back Pain Incidence and Ultrasound Assessment of Trunk Muscles in Adult Soccer Players: A Cohort Study
Author(s) -
Pardis Noormohammadpour,
Morteza Aghaei-Afshar,
Mohammad Alì Mansournia,
Babak Mirzashahi,
Maryam AkbariFakhrabadi,
Paweł Linek,
Zahra Tavakol,
Mohammad Hossein Pourgharib Shahi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
asian journal of sports medicine./asian journal of sports medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2008-7209
pISSN - 2008-000X
DOI - 10.5812/asjsm.102810
Subject(s) - medicine , low back pain , incidence (geometry) , trunk , cohort , athletes , multifidus muscle , lumbar , abdominal muscles , physical therapy , cohort study , surgery , pathology , ecology , physics , alternative medicine , optics , biology
Background: Few studies have demonstrated the connection between trunk muscle thickness and low back pain (LBP) in athletes. Objectives: This study aimed to define whether the thickness of the lateral abdominal muscles (LAM) and lumbar multifidus (LM) are related to LBP incidence in elite male soccer players. Methods: In this short-term cohort study, 42 elite male soccer players from professional soccer teams were followed for a season. The muscle thickness of LAM and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the LM were assessed. The relation between the incidence of LBP and the aforementioned factors was evaluated after the cohort study. Results: Thirty-seven participants completed the study, and seven participants (18.91%) experienced LBP during the follow-up period. No significant relationship was detected between LBP and the thickness of LAM and CSA of LM (P > 0.05). None of the other variables had any relationship with LBP incidence (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The LAM thickness and CSA of LM during a resting position and drawing-in maneuver was found not to be directly related to LBP incidence in elite male soccer players in the short term. Assessing these muscles’ conditions in more functional positions could be considered for further research.