LUMBAR MOBILITY IN FORMER ELITE MALE WEIGHTLIFTERS, SOCCER PLAYERS, LONG-DISTANCE RUNNERS AND SHOOTERS

Objective. To investigate the long-term effects of different loading c onditions in sports and work on lumbar mobility. Design. Factors assoc iated with lumbar mobility were sought by examining sports experience, occupational history, back pain history, anthropometric characteristi cs, and lumbar magnetic resonance images in 114 former Finnish male el ite athletes: 30 soccer players, 29 weight-lifters, 27 long-distance r unners, and 28 shooters, aged 45-68 yr. Background. Back pain and agin g reduce spinal mobility, whereas some sports may increase it. Little is known about the effects of common loading conditions found in work and sports, that do not require extremes of spinal motion on lumbar mo bility later in life. Methods. Sports and occupational histories were obtained from a standardized interview. Lumbar mobility was measured b y the flexicurve method. Disc degeneration was evaluated from lumbar m agnetic resonance images. The results were analysed with analysis of V ariance and covariance and multiple regression models.Results. The ath lete groups did not differ significantly in lumbar sagittal mobility. Higher body-mass index was associated with less flexion, reduced disc height with less extension, as was a high lifetime number of low back pain episodes. Occupations characterized by varying work postures and light lifting were associated with greater mobility, and heavy work wi th lesser mobility. Conclusions. Participation in sports with clearly different loading patterns, that do not emphasize extremes of spinal r ange of motion, do not appear to lead to significant differences in ba ck mobility in later adulthood, but occupational loading factors and d isc height narrowing appear to influence spinal mobility. Relevance Th is study adds to knowledge about long-term effects of high-level sport s participation and other factors on spinal mobility. The loading and stretching, common in many sports, do not seem to affect spinal mobili ty significantly in later adulthood. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. Al l rights reserved.