Cricket and Back Pain

Lower back pain, particularly for the fast bowler, is an all too familiar problem. For those that are working with higher training workloads and intensity, this can be problematic. Sport Health, a publication of Sports Medicine Australia, recently published (Vol 37 Issue 1, 2019) a round table discussion with several experts in this area discussing lumbar stress fractures in the cricket playing population. The emphasis in this discussion was that early diagnosis leads to better early treatment and a more durable recovery.

Primarily early identification of a stress reaction through clinical assessment and 3T MRI can identify the pathology. A stress fracture that has not progressed to a pars defect ( full fracture) ultimately is more easily treated ie. no need for periods of complete rest or maybe even surgery in the worst cases. The treatment is based on relative rest and repeat MRI to ensure that healing is occuring.

So what is relative rest? You really need to understand the total load on the athlete and adapting this load for the athlete to a more appropriate level. This may mean bowling fewer overs slower, before gradually building up to more overs at a faster pace: ie: managing the total load per session and per week/month on the player.

What is the role of MRI – this gets rid of the guesswork. The MRI can clearly establish when adequate healing has occurred so that the sportsperson can return to a “full” training and playing load.

So listen to that niggling pain in your back, consult with a physio before it gets worse and always consider your playing/training load as a culprit.