Association between adolescent sport activities and lumbar disk degeneration among young adults

Abstract

The relationship between different sport activities and lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration (DD) is largely unknown. We evaluated whether adolescent participation in different sports is associated with lumbar DD in a population-based birth cohort of young adults. A total of 558 young adults (325 females and 233 males) underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 1.5-T scanner). A DD sum score, based on the Pfirrmann grading, was calculated for all lumbar levels. The sum score was categorized into no DD, 1, 2, or at least 3. Participation in different sport activities was self-reported by postal surveys at 16, 18, and 19 years, and three groups were formed based on participation frequency in 11 sports: (a) highly active (at least twice a week), (b) moderately active (2-4 times a month), and (c) inactive (maximum once a month). Cumulative odds ratios (COR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained for each sport by ordinal logistic regression, adjusting for gender, body mass index, age, socioeconomic status, smoking, and other sports. Highly active participation in jogging/running and swimming was associated with a higher DD sum score (COR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.4-6.3 and 5.0; 1.7-15.2, respectively) compared to inactive participation, whereas highly active participation in skating showed low COR. In conclusion, running and swimming at least twice a week in early adulthood are potentially associated with lumbar DD. Follow-up studies with MRI are needed to show whether frequent exposure to running or swimming has further effect on the integrity of lumbar intervertebral disks.

The PNt-Methodology: a top-down network modelling approach to estimate dose- and time-dependent cell responses to complex multifactorial environments

“…Thereby, the cell response to different stimulus concentrations does not seem to follow a systematic pattern, especially for the motions expected to involve catabolic CA. For example, while two-hours sitting with a round back and hiking with extra weight were predicted to particularly upregulate the mRNA expressions of Col-I, followed by ADAMTS4, jogging and vibration might rather trigger MMP3 mRNA expressions (Figure 6, B1). Moving habits that were generally less related with IVD degeneration were sitting (office workers) (Luoma et al, 2000) and walking (Belavý et al, 2017; Takatalo et al, 2017). In contrast, moving habits classically related to IVD degeneration or to catabolic changes in NP cell responses were weight lifting (Videman et al, 1995), heavy work (carpenters) (Luoma et al, 2000) or whole body vibration exposure (machine drivers) (Luoma et al, 2000).…”

O Disco Intervertebral da Coluna Lombar. Qual o Efeito do Exercício Físico?

“…11 Foi observado aumento da hidratação do DIV em corredores de longa distância 11 e altura do disco maior, podendo indicar hipertrofia 11 , contrariando o que é conhecido da degenerescência dos DIV lombares. No entanto, os resultados são diferentes quando avaliados logo após o exercício, observando-se diminuição da altura do disco 12 , tornando o DIV mais suscetível a lesão pela menor capacidade de absorver e distribuir carga com perda de hidratação.…”

“…13 O basebol e a natação apresentam maior incidência de degenerescência do DIV 13 , que na natação pode ser explicada pela torção, posições extremas e velocidade da carga associadas à elevada frequência da prática. 12 Os praticantes de remo apresentam elevada incidência de herniação dos DIV e nos jogadores de hóquei de elevado nível de competição (figura 3) os movimentos de rotação e flexão promovem deformação em cunha dos corpos vertebrais com degenerescência do DIV. 14 A lombalgia é comum em jogadores de golfe, pela inclinação lateral da coluna com rotação pélvica, bem como hiperextensão lombar e rotação excessiva da coluna.…”

Correlation between thoracolumbar disc degeneration and anatomical spinopelvic parameters in supine position on MRI

“…There are several known risk factors for the development of intervertebral disc degeneration. Age [1][2][3], BMI [1,[4][5][6], and level of physical activity [5,7] have been shown to correlate well with the risk of spinal degeneration and low back pain. Other cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and serum lipid level, are controversially discussed as additional independent risk factors [8][9][10][11].…”