While you may love the game, you should know the dangers behind the sport you play when it comes to protecting your spine. In a 2008 study investigating spinal injuries in sports, Boden & Jarvis found that sports account for over eight percent of new spinal cord problems each year. This number could be reduced with proper training, protection, and avoiding sports that cause spine stress altogether.
Your first guess might be high-impact sports like football and rugby. However, high-impact sports are not the only causes of spinal injury in sports. Lower-impact sports that involve using the same movements over and over like running, tennis, and golf are harmful when not executed properly. This leads to overuse with immediate or long-term ramifications later in life.
Other back injuries may be caused by improper form during activities like tackling and swinging, lack of stretching, and direct impact to the spinal cord.
In order to avoid spine injuries, you might want to know a few common ones that occur in sport:
Spondylolysis is a stress fracture of the vertebra that strikes athletes whose sport involves bends and rotations. It is common amongst adolescents and in sports such as golf, wrestling, and gymnastics.
A stinger is frequent in high contact sports. Also known as burners, stingers are not as catastrophic as an injury to the spinal cord. Stingers occur if the back or neck is twisted quickly, like from a hard tackle or over extending during a game. If left unattended, stringers may reoccur and cause severe pain.
Herniated disks occur when the outer part of your disc tears, exposing the inner portion. A herniated disk may be extremely painful and limit your activity. This injury is more common amongst older athletes and is caused by overusing back muscles, according to Mayo Clinic.
While there is no way to out-and-out eliminate spinal injuries, there are measures you can take to limit them:
Warm up any areas that will be used during your sporting activities. If your sport involves heavy usage of your back, make sure to incorporate back stretches.
Use protective gear if provided or necessary. Back belts and braces are helpful during heavy lifting.
Sports like diving require you to know your surroundings. You are most likely safe if you are diving at an event, however, if you’re somewhere unfamiliar, ensure the water is deep enough for diving.
A lot of back injuries are caused by over pressure. It is good to keep your posture as good as possible to lessen the pressure on your back and reduce injury risk.
You may find it challenging to distinguish between a spine injury or general back pain. Here are some common symptoms of spinal cord injuries:
If you are experiencing any combination of these symptoms, you should contact a back doctor near you to rule out spine injury. Some spine injuries are more serious than others and should be treated immediately.
Our Spine Specialists, Dr. Chris Glattes and Dr. Collin Crosby, are located in Nashville, TN, and Franklin, TN. To book an appointment at one of our locations nearest to you, click here.
