The Athlete’s Spine—Lumbar Herniated Nucleus Pulposus

Lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus is common among athletes given the physical stresses placed upon the lumbar spine with various athletic activities. Although the natural course is generally favorable with conservative management, the reproducible success of lumbar discectomy provides itself as an alternative treatment option for the athlete. Both conservative and operative management are associated with quick recovery and return to play. This chapter reviews the natural history of lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus, various treatment modalities, and the athlete-specific metrics pertinent to the management of athletes.

[1]  R. Watkins,et al.  Return-to-Play Outcomes After Microscopic Lumbar Diskectomy in Professional Athletes , 2012, The American journal of sports medicine.

[2]  Y. Li,et al.  Lumbar spine surgery in athletes:: outcomes and return-to-play criteria. , 2012, Clinics in sports medicine.

[3]  M. Drakos,et al.  Epidural steroid injection for lumbar disc herniation in NFL athletes. , 2012, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[4]  R. Soder,et al.  Spine Abnormalities Depicted by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Adolescent Rowers , 2011, The American journal of sports medicine.

[5]  W. Hsu,et al.  Return-to-Play Rates in National Football League Linemen After Treatment for Lumbar Disk Herniation , 2011, The American journal of sports medicine.

[6]  W. Hsu,et al.  The Professional Athlete Spine Initiative: outcomes after lumbar disc herniation in 342 elite professional athletes. , 2010, The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society.

[7]  R. Balderston,et al.  Comprar Rothman Simeone The Spine, 6th Edition Expert Consult: Online, Print and DVD, 2-Volume Set | Harry N. Herkowitz | 9781416067269 | Saunders , 2011 .

[8]  M. Field,et al.  Return to golf after spine surgery. , 2011, Journal of neurosurgery. Spine.

[9]  J. Iwamoto,et al.  The Return to Sports Activity After Conservative or Surgical Treatment in Athletes with Lumbar Disc Herniation , 2010, American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation.

[10]  W. Hsu,et al.  Statistical Performance in National Football League Athletes After Lumbar Discectomy , 2010, Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine.

[11]  W. Hsu.  Performance-Based Outcomes Following Lumbar Discectomy in Professional Athletes in the National Football League , 2010, Spine.

[12]  J. Auerbach,et al.  Athletic Performance Outcomes Following Lumbar Discectomy in Professional Basketball Players , 2010, Spine.

[13]  P. Gerszten,et al.  Plasma disc decompression compared with fluoroscopy-guided transforaminal epidural steroid injections for symptomatic contained lumbar disc herniation: a prospective, randomized, controlled trial. , 2010, Journal of neurosurgery. Spine.

[14]  D. Medina,et al.  Magnetic Resonance Study of Lumbar Disks in Female Dancers , 2009, The American journal of sports medicine.

[15]  R. Warren,et al.  Predictive Value of Prior Injury on Career in Professional American Football is Affected by Player Position , 2009, The American journal of sports medicine.

[16]  M. Sakane,et al.  Lumbar Intervertebral Disk Degeneration in Athletes , 2009, The American journal of sports medicine.

[17]  J. Weinstein,et al.  Surgical Versus Nonoperative Treatment for Lumbar Disc Herniation: Four-Year Results for the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) , 2008, Spine.

[18]  P. McCrory.  Lumbar Intervertebral Disk Degeneration in Elite Competitive Swimmers: A Case Control Study , 2008 .

[19]  Robert Stapleton,et al.  Three-dimensional Motion Analysis of the Lumbar Spine during “Free Squat” Weight Lift Training , 2007, The American journal of sports medicine.

[20]  J. Grauer,et al.  Back Pain in Athletes , 2006, The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

[21]  J. Iwamoto,et al.  Short-Term Outcome of Conservative Treatment in Athletes with Symptomatic Lumbar Disc Herniation , 2006, American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation.

[22]  R. Rothman,et al.  Rothman-Simeone, the spine , 2006 .

[23]  D. Singer,et al.  Long-Term Outcomes of Surgical and Nonsurgical Management of Sciatica Secondary to a Lumbar Disc Herniation: 10 Year Results from the Maine Lumbar Spine Study , 2005, Spine.

[24]  D. Singer,et al.  Long-Term Outcomes of Surgical and Nonsurgical Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: 8 to 10 Year Results from the Maine Lumbar Spine Study , 2005, Spine.

[25]  G. Buttermann.  Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation : Epidural Steroid Injection Compared with Discectomy , 2004 .

[26]  C. Bono.  Low-back pain in athletes. , 2004, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[27]  J. Anderson,et al.  A pilot study of the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration in elite athletes with lower back pain at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games , 2003, British journal of sports medicine.

[28]  R. Watkins,et al.  Microscopic lumbar discectomy results for 60 cases in professional and Olympic athletes. , 2003, The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society.

[29]  G. Buttermann.  Lumbar Disc Herniation Regression After Successful Epidural Steroid Injection , 2002, Journal of spinal disorders & techniques.

[30]  P. Gerbino,et al.  Does football cause an increase in degenerative disease of the lumbar spine? , 2002, Current sports medicine reports.

[31]  E. Carragee,et al.  Activity restrictions after posterior lumbar discectomy. A prospective study of outcomes in 152 cases with no postoperative restrictions. , 1999, Spine.

[32]  Jeffrey C. Wang,et al.  The outcome of lumbar discectomy in elite athletes. , 1999, Spine.

[33]  T Videman,et al.  The Long‐Term Effects of Physical Loading and Exercise Lifestyles on Back‐Related Symptoms, Disability, and Spinal Pathology Among Men , 1995, Spine.

[34]  H. Weber.  The natural history of disc herniation and the influence of intervention. , 1994, Spine.

[35]  K. Yone,et al.  Percutaneous discectomy in athletes. , 1993, Spine.

[36]  T. Sakou,et al.  Comparison of operative results of lumbar disc herniation in manual laborers and athletes. , 1993, Spine.

[37]  D. W. Jackson,et al.  Spine injuries in gymnasts and swimmers. An epidemiologic investigation. , 1992, The American journal of sports medicine.

[38]  C. Bartolozzi,et al.  [The incidence of disk changes in volleyball players. The magnetic resonance findings]. , 1991, La Radiologia medica.

[39]  M. Hellström,et al.  Disc Degeneration and Associated Abnormalities of the Spine in Elite Gymnasts: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study , 1991, Spine.

[40]  R. Herzog,et al.  The Natural History of Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Extrusions Treated Nonoperatively , 1990, Spine.

[41]  D. Spengler,et al.  Elective discectomy for herniation of a lumbar disc. Additional experience with an objective method. , 1990, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[42]  J. Saal,et al.  Nonoperative Treatment of Herniated Lumbar Intervertebral Disc with Radiculopathy: An Outcome Study , 1989, Spine.

[43]  H. Weber,et al.  Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Controlled, Prospective Study with Ten Years of Observation , 2009 .

[44]  R. Saunders,et al.  Lumbar disc protrusion in children. , 1981, Journal of neurosurgery.

[45]  A. Ryan,et al.  The Olympic games. , 1956, Journal of the American Medical Association.