Low back pain in athletes: pathogenetic mechanisms and therapy.

A different and more in-depth approach is needed when treating an athlete suffering from low back pain than is the case when the same pathology affects a sedentary subject. In fact, pain symptoms may frequently arise only when there is functional overloading, while pain is absent or not disabling in normal daily activity. Treatment is also different for the athlete: complete functional recovery must take place in as short a period of time as possible, and it will often have to be finalized in relation to sports-related commitments. A group of 60 professional athletes were evaluated in order to examine the incidence and the features of lumbar pain. Attention was particularly paid to a functional evaluation of the spine by means of an accurate clinical examination and the use of the Metrecom system. The data obtained confirm the importance of changes in posture and in vertebral dynamics when the pain symptom occurs.