December 20th, 2020

// 4 Common Back Injuries Professional Athletes Often Face

4 Common Back Injuries Professional Athletes Often Face

Professional athletes use their bodies more often than the average individual. For this reason, they are more prone to injury. We're going to take a look at four of the most common injuries that occur to the backs of professional athletes around the globe.

Lumbar Disc Herniation

Your spine is made up of many vertebrae, which are rectangular bones that are stacked on top of one another. The lower section of the spine is referred to as the lumbar spine. This area is very susceptible to back injuries as they absorb much of the blow during our daily movements. When these discs get damaged, they take longer to heal than other sections of the spine because they have less blood flow.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Discs of the spine are composed of a large amount of water. This allows them to act as a spongy cushion. As degenerative disc diseases set in, these vertebrae become less spongy as they lose a large amount of their water. Athletes are known to be more susceptible to this disease, according to any sports medicine doctor, due to the movements of their aggressive sports movements.

Spondylolysis

When your lumbar spine undergoes repetitive injury, it can result in a condition known as spondylolysis. More specifically, each injury causes a microtrauma or stress fracture to a part of the vertebra. This condition is most commonly found in athletes that participate in weight lifting, wrestling, gymnastics, and diving. Most athletes will experience this condition as their activity level increases. The increase in physical activity aggravates the stress fractures of the vertebrae.

Muscular Strain

Muscular strain is the most common condition that athletes deal with. When muscular strains occur, athletes will experience a plethora of symptoms. These include aching sensations, muscular weakness, and spasms. Athletes facing this condition are best treated with gentle movement of the spine as mobilization is the key to getting blood to the vertebrae for healing. This injury can be prevented with proper lumbar biomechanics and core strengthening exercises.

Back injuries are one of the most common types of injuries experienced by athletes around the globe. As you can see, there can be many different causes of injury. The most common are the four mentioned above. As an athlete, it's important that you take the necessary precautionary measures to ensure that you reduce your risk of dealing with any of these painful back injuries.

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