Cricket is a low impact sport that is enjoyed by a large number of people worldwide. It has a low injury rate, particularly amongst batsmen, however fast bowlers can be subjected to stress fractures, or spondylolsis of the lumbar spine due to high low loads incurred in their action. This occurs most commonly at L4 and L5 at the segment called the pars interarticularis.
Risk Factors
The etiology and risk factors associated with lumbar bone stress in fast bowlers is multifactorial:
- Excessive lumbar spine flexion, lateral flexion and lateral rotation at delivery stride
- Age-13-25 years of age
- Increased bowling load either per session, per game or number of games
- Inappropriate preparation and recovery between bowling sessions and games
Common signs and symptoms associated with lumbar stress injury include:
- Unilateral lower back pain
- Pain made worse by bowling specifically
- Symptoms eased with rest
- Building residual pain leading to night pain
- Morning stiffness/pain
- Pain is associated with lumbar spine stiffness and hamstring tightness
How can ‘The Performance Line’ help?
Your physio will do a thorough subjective and objective assessment, biomechanical analysis and lumbar range assessments. This helps determine the diagnosis and devise a specific and tailor-made treatment program. Your physio will determine whether imaging is appropriate to confirm the diagnosis and whether further specialist reviews are required.
Lumbar Stress Fractures Rehabilitation:
When considering lumbar stress fractures, the first step is relative rest for a period of time to promote tissue healing and allow symptoms to settle.
Physio may include soft tissue work, joint mobilisations and active range of motion (AROM) exercises to promote lumbar spine movement restoration. We implement core strengthening and hip, knee and ankle stability exercises to return and improve strength of muscles to help with mechanics.
We use our clinic or a field setting to return you to fast bowling movements in a safe and progressive manner. This involves additional work on analysing your technique, providing advice and making minor adjustments to your technique (if needed) to prevent injury recurrence.
The final piece of the puzzle is returning to play. Guided by your physiotherapist at TPL and appropriate medical staff, you can gradually return to and increase your bowling load safely to your previous or better standard.
Book your physiotherapy session with our expert team today!