Purpose: To assess radiographically the prevalence of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis in symptomatic athletes from plain radiographs.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the plain radiographic lumbar spine series of 4243 male and female athletes with symptoms relating to the lumbar spine.Results: The study showed that 590 athletes (13.90%) had a radiological diagnosis of spondylolysis with concomitant spondylolisthesis in 280 of these (47.45%).Conclusions: High prevalence of spondylolysis in athletes with low back pain compared with the general population suggests that it would be good practise to include a radiological examination of the lumbar spine in symptomatic athletes engaged in sports who are considered to be at risk in the light of this and other studies although MRI could offer the most comprehensive evaluation of the lumbar spine, without the potential risks of gonad irradiation.
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