Low back pain among Italian rowers: A cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Low Back Pain is commonly reported to be a very frequent disorder in rowing, but it is still unclear if its prevalence is higher than in other sports or even in a non-athletes group. OBJECTIVES: To determine prevalence of low back pain (LBP) with and without irradiated pain and possibly related risk factors in a group of elite Italian rowers. METHODS: The study was conducted during the 2010 Italian Indoor Rowing Championship held in Bari from 30th to 31st January. All the 415 rowers who qualified for the national championship were asked to complete a three-page questionnaire on LBP, assisted by a physiotherapist. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-three athletes (32%) completed the assessment. LBP was very common, with a lifetime and 1 year prevalence of 64.7% and 40.6% respectively. During the last episode, the LBP intensity, measured by a numeric rating scale (NRS), presented a median value of 6/10, and 40% of rowers reported some limitation in daily living activities (ADL). Odds ratio (OR) to suffer from LBP was 2.62 in males compared to females; athletes who row both in sculling and sweep or only sweep showed an OR of 4.43 and 3.32 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of low back pain among rowers seems to be comparable to the one of the general population, even if the recovery appears to be faster. The risk of developing LBP is associated with the rowing typology and the gender, but a prospective study with an adequate sample size is necessary to clearly identify risk factors for LBP in rowers and to implement effective prevention strategies.