Low Back Pain in Athletes Is Associated with General and Sport Specific Risk Factors: A Comprehensive Review of Longitudinal Studies

Table 4

The results of prospective studies on risk factors of low back pain in athletes.

Risk factor	Number	Study	Association	Sample showing association		Level of evidence
				Yes	No
Age	1	[33]	0		1/1	Insufficient
Body weight	2	[21, 28]	+	2/2		Strong
BMI	2	[22, 28]		2/2		Moderate
Height	2	[21, 28]	0			Strong
Sex	1	[21]	0		1/1	Insufficient
Involvement in other sports	2	[31, 33]	0		2/2	Moderate
Active year	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient
Previous LBP	3	[21, 33]		2/3	1/3	Strong
		[27]	0
Previous back injury	1	[31]		1/1		Insufficient
Previous lower extremity injury	1	[27]		1/1		Insufficient
Lumbar flexion (decreased ROM)	3	[21, 28]		2/3	1/3	Strong
		[22]	0
Lumbar extension (decreased ROM)	3	[21, 28]		2/3	1/3	Strong
		[22]	0
hip flexor length (tightness)	3	[21, 22]		2/3	1/3	Moderate
		[27]	0
Forward bending	1	[21]	+	1/1		Insufficient
Side bridge endurance test	1	[22]		1/1		Insufficient
Lateral flexion of the neck at the dominant side (decreased)	1	[31]		1/1		Insufficient
hamstring length (tightness)	3	[21, 22, 28]	0		3/3	Strong
Trunk flexor endurance	2	[21, 22]	0		2/2	Moderate
Trunk extensor endurance	2	[21, 22]	0		2/2	Moderate
trunk extensor strength	2	[22, 32]	0		2/2	Moderate
Hip extensor strength	1	[32]	0		1/1	Insufficient
Lateral flexion of the neck at the nondominant side (decreased)	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient
Rack side et length (normal/extra length)	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient
>10° difference between dominant and nondominant total shoulder rotation	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient
>10° difference between dominant and nondominant side in flexion of the shoulder joint	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient
>10° difference between dominant and nondominant side in extension of the elbow joint	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient
>10% difference between forehand and backhand medicine ball tosses	1	[31]	0		1/1	Insufficient

+: positive association, −: negative association, and 0: without association.