Acute Lumbar Paraspinal Myonecrosis in Football Players With Sickle Cell Trait: A Case Series.

We report 6 cases of a novel syndrome of acute, exertional low back pain (LBP) in football players, 5 in college and one in the National Football League (NFL). All 6 are African-Americans with sickle cell trait (SCT). The acute LBP is severe and can be disabling, and the condition can be confused with muscle strain, discogenic pain, stress fracture, or other problems in athletes. Our evidence shows that this syndrome is caused by lumbar paraspinal myonecrosis (LPSMN), which likely often contributes to the lumbar paraspinal compartment syndrome. We explain why we believe SCT is a risk factor for LPSMN in football conditioning/training, even though SCT is not requisite for this syndrome, which has been reported rarely in other sports (for example, snow or water skiing) and especially in weight lifting that targets lumbar muscles. The clinical course of LPSMN in football can be mild and allow return to play in a week or two, or it can be severe and lead to long-term sequelae. Knowledge of this syndrome will enable athletic trainers and team physicians to diagnose it early, treat it properly, and lessen its impact. Further research will help us learn how better to prevent it. (C) 2016 American College of Sports Medicine

from Sports Medicine via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2gfTeWY
via IFTTT