Abstract
The lifetime incidence and prevalence of low back pain among 32 retired wrestlers (ages 39 to 62 years) and 13 retired heavyweight lifters (ages 40 to 61 years) were evaluated and compared to the corresponding results in a cross-sectional study of 716 men (ages 40 to 47 years). The radiologic findings and the findings upon physical examination in the athletes were compared to the findings in another study of normal, active, similarly aged men who were sampled at random. The lifetime incidence and prevalence of low back pain was higher among the wrestlers (59%) compared with both the lifters (23%) and the control group (31%). The tolerance for backache seemed to be higher among the athletes than the controls. A higher frequency of old fractures was found among the wrestlers. The athletes with fractures had a higher frequency of low back pain. A significant decrease in disk height was found among the lifters.
My comments:
This blog is a partial answer to the question I got about axial loading of the spine from weight lifting (particularly squats and deadlifts) and if there was any evidence it would cause/accelerate any degenerative disc disease (DDD).
While answering the question (which you can find on my Dec 12-15 entry of this blog), I recalled the above study, which looked at retired competitive weightlifters and wrestlers 20 years after they stopped competing. Per their survey, wrestlers had increased incidence of low back pain in comparison to age matched control subjects, while weightlifters had a lesser incidence (but not significantly) of pain. It looks like wrestlers get wrenched in such a way that leaves them worse off, while the weightlifters (which isn’t clearly stated but I’m assuming are Olympic weightlifters) aren’t. The good thing about Olympic weightlifting is that almost all the lifts are done with the spine neutral. Though given the time period, these guys probably did the Olympic press, which used to be a competitive lift but was eliminated from competition in 1972. Depending on the technique employed, the Olympic press sometimes put the lifter in the extremes of spine extension with considerable weights. Still, the weightlifters didn’t have an increased incidence of back pain.
The weightlifters did in fact have decreased disc height (at least 50%) in at least one level in 62% of their lumbar spines, while the same was found in 32% of the wrestlers, and the same for control subjects. So there is evidence increased DDD in retired weightlifters, but it does not seem to be associated with any increase in pain or disability. Also it is impossible to say if the DDD is because axial loading, because there was a lot of spine extension with the Olympic press. Though the Olympic lifts generally don’t have any spine flexion, (which is inordinately risky and causal for herniated discs and subsequent DDD), a lot of abdominal training that weightlifters often did was. Even so, functionally and pain wise, retired lifters’ low backs seem to do pretty well. Research has also shown squats which do cause axial compression and a neutral spine is particularly good for increasing bone mineral density for women with osteoporosis, and periodized weight training is beneficial for those with chronic low back pain. There is also evidence that free weight programs, which generally include squats and deadlifts, result in a lesser incidence of low back pain than those consisting of machine based training and stretching. In my practice, the vast majority of the physical therapy patients I see referred for low back pain progress to doing both squats and Romanian deadlifts (RDLs) and they do great. However, I am very strict to limit range of motion, insisting the spine stays neutral throughout, and having my patients stop the exercise immediately if there is any increase in pain, even if the spine is neutral. I also keep reps relatively high (15s) in my patients with pre-existing back pain.
Unfortunately, wrestlers didn’t hold up as well and, as such, I would expect them to do better increasing core strength and avoiding extreme spine range of motion, which is probably not the easiest task in competition.
Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any questions or comments (even hostile ones) please don’t hesitate to ask/share. If you’re reading one of my older blogs, perhaps unrelated to neck or back pain, and it helps you, please remember SpineFit Yoga for you or someone you know in the future.
Chad Reilly is a Physical Therapist, obtaining his Master’s in Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. Exercise Science also from NAU. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and holds a USA Weightlifting Club Coach Certification as well as a NASM Personal Training Certificate. Chad completed Yoga Teacher Training at Sampoorna Yoga in Goa, India.
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