Low back pain is one of the commonest sites of pain in gymnasts. This pain may accompany well defined anatomical abnormalities of the spine or be present without significant skeletal abnormality. Skeletal abnormalities correlate with age and hours of training per week implicating that spinal injuries in gymnasts are "training-dose" related. We give an overview of the studies reporting on the incidence and prevalence of spinal injuries and low back pain in artistic gymnastics. The origin of low back pain is described and analysed. Pilates is an increasingly popular system of body-stabilising exercise. Its main principles are devoted to activation of the muscles contributing to spinal stabilization. It was used as a rehabilitation method for a lower back problems and was shown to be effective and of good subjective acceptance in the general population, whereas specific studies in the artistic gymnastics are lacking. According to the studies with training programs implementing similar lower-trunk stabilizing principles as Pilates, gymnastics couches may be encouraged to implement this kind of exercise for prevention and treatment of chronic low back pain in gymnasts.
© Copyright 2009 Science of Gymnastics Journal. Department of Gymnastics, Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.