Many different Cricket sports injuries can occur depending on what position is being played by the athlete. Most bowlers will tend to suffer the most serious injuries due to the repetitive irregular movement combined with the high torque and forces involved in the sport of cricket.
Athletes in the field will suffer shoulder and or elbow overuse injuries. While batsmen are always well protected contact injuries from the ball are usually very rare. In fact the wicket keeper is more likely to suffer such an injury!
However one of the most common injuries in the game of cricket occurs in the lower back pain.
In fact findings of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University researchers found that bowling (41%), fielding and wicket keeping (30%), and batting (16%) accounted for the majority of the injuries. The primary mechanism of injury in these cricketers was found to be the delivery and follow through of the fast bowler (26%), fielding (23%), overuse (17%), ball impacts (7%), training (4%), and participation in other sports accounting for 3%.
Lower back pain is most common in younger inexperienced fast bowlers. Previous research has reported that these injuries occur in up to 60% of young cricket players. The reason for such a high incidence of back injury has been attributed to a combination of factors. These include inadequate physical and physiological preparation, relatively reduced bone density following maturing during a growth spurt throughout adolescence, postural defects, biomechanical aspects of the bowling technique, rapid escalation in training frequency, duration of bowling spells in matches, and the repetitive nature of movements.
Stress fracture of the lumbar spine is a common injury in young fast bowlers.
Fast bowling in cricket sports injuries requires a combination of lumbar torsion, hyperextension (bending back) together with rotation and side lateralflexion of the trunk. This puts tremendous amounts of stress on an area of the vertebra called the Pars Interarticularis’ and this is where stress fractures develop.
I find many times that when stress fractures develop in adolescents it shows up as acute back pain however sometimes it will not show up in regular plain film x-ray views.
In many cases and MRI must be taken to find where there is metabolic activity occurring in the pars interarticularis. If this isn’t done the diagnosis of a stress fracture may be missed and in many cases it is. Once the stress fracture is properly diagnoses it is important to shut the athlete down from physical activity and demand that there is proper rest and time for healing. Although a small percentage of people with a stress fracture can be pain free. Typically it is sore when the patient bends backwards, particularly if standing on one leg. If a lower back stress fracture is suspected, a doctor may decide to refer the patient for a scan to confirm the diagnosis.
If you are a bowler and find that you are suffering with these types of symptoms regardless of your age get yourself checked out immediately so a proper diagnosis can be made and the proper treatment can be performed.
For more information call 201-453-1555 or email Dr. Tirado for info@westnewyorkchiropractor.com
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