A Comparison of Lower Back Pain and Injury in Competitive and Non-Competitive Gymnasts

The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of lower back pain and the incidence o f lower back injury in non-competitive and competitive gymnasts. Secondly, the relationships of training variables with the incidence of lower back pain and lower back injury were examined. Seventy-eight female gymnasts (63 competitive and 15 non-competitive) ages 13-25 representing thirteen gymnastics clubs in the Midwest were surveyed. Each gymnast answered questions regarding years of training, weekly hours of practice, and history of low back pain and injury. Chi square analyses were done in order to compare the incidence o f lower back pain and lower back injury in non-competitive gymnasts to that of competitive gymnasts. Results demonstrated no significant difference (p\u3e0.0005) between the incidence of lower back pain of competitive and non-competitive gymnasts as well as no significant difference (p\u3e0.0005) between the incidence of lower back injury of competitive and noncompetitive gymnasts. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to predict the incidence of lower back pain and lower back injury in the total subject pool (N=78). The occurrence of previous lower back injury as diagnosed by a professional, body weight, weight training and duration of stretching explained 53.3% of the variance of the incidence of lower back pain (SEE =.28). The occurrence of lower back pain and body weight explained 38.5% of the variance of the incidence of lower back injury (SEE = .32). It was concluded that: 1) there is no difference between the incidence of lower back pain in competitive and non-competitive gymnasts; 2) there is no difference between the incidence of lower back injury in competitive and non-competitive gymnasts; 3) the occurrence of previous lower back injury as diagnosed by a professional, body weight, weight training and duration of stretching explain 53.3% o f the variance in the incidence of lower back pain, while the occurrence of lower back pain and body weight explain 38.5% of the variance in the incidence of lower back injury