Lesões da região lombar em adolescentes assintomáticos praticantes de futebol: estudo transversal

Abstract

Background: More than 265 million persons worldwide are subject to lumbar spine injuries that can be insidious and serious, potentially leading to temporary or permanent disability of the athlete in training. Purpose: To assess the frequency of abnormalities of the lumbar region in asymptomatic young soccer players. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Male adolescents from schools of grassroots soccer clubs and non-practicing activity controls of the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil. The frequency of abnormalities of the lumbar region was evaluated by magnetic resonance testing, performed using 1.5T devices with multi-channel coils in model equipment models (Koninklijke Philips, Best, The Netherlands, Siemens GmbH, Erlangen, Germany). The types of lesions evaluated were general, warning signs, initiated, anterior and posterior, and of the column. Clinical, sociodemographic, anthropometric measurements and physical activity level data were collected through the QAFA questionnaire. Comparisons between groups and the relative percentage of each lesion type were compared by Pearson’s chi-squared test and Fischer’s exact test. The inter and intra-observer analyses were compared by the Kappa test. Results: Forty-five adolescents were included, of whom 25 (56%) were soccer-practicing teenagers. No significant differences were identified between the variables age (P = 0.960) and the BMI Z index score (P = 0.540) between the group of soccer practitioners and the controls. However, the percentages of lesions (general, instituted, anterior and posterior, and in the spinal column) were significantly higher in the practicing football group than in the control group (P = 0.002, P <0.001, P = 0.012, and P = 0.006, respectively). Conclusion: Young adolescent asymptomatic soccer players have more lumbar spine lesions than less active controls who do not practice sports regularly.