Hyper Mobility and Low Back Pain in the Athletic Population

Objectives: It is important to recognize any risk factors for the development of injuries in the athletic population. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between joint hyper mobility and low back pain in Iranian hyper mobile and non-hyper mobile athletes. Methods: 50 athletic patients with low back pain (age=23.20±12.79 years) and 51 healthy athletes (age=24.28±13.70) from Iranian athletic teams were screened for hyper mobility using the Beighton score (0-9, with higher scores indicating increasing hyper mobility). The athletes’ profiles, medical histories and chosen sport were collected by means of a questionnaire. Results: The mean (SD) Beighton score in females with low back pain and healthy subjects were 5.07±2.30 and 4.93±1.79 respectively. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups (P=0.54). The mean (SD) Beighton score in males with low back pain was also higher (5.11±1.72) than in healthy subjects (4.36±1.82). However, the result of an independent t test showed no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.07). Discussion: Further studies are needed to determine the effects of hyper mobility on low back kinematics and injuries in different sport types.