Are Fast-Bowlers Prone to Back Injuries? Prevalence of Lumbar Spine Injuries in Fast-Bowlers: Review of MRI-Based Studies

Background: fast-bowlers in cricket subject their spines to repetitive stress. objectives: the aim of this study was to review the prevalence of lumbar spine injuries among fast-bowlers. materials and methods: medline and embase searches were performed. further, the authors canvassed the reference list of availablearticles and used other search engines such as google scholar to identify a total of nine studies. results: the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration in fast-bowlers ranges from 21-65% with an incidence rate of 15% per year, and theprevalence of lumbar spine bony abnormalities ranges from 24-81%. factors associated with lumbar spine injury in fast-bowlers areclassified into un-modifiable (age) and modifiable (more intense bowling workload and mixed-bowling technique). conclusions: fast-bowlers have a high prevalence of lumbar spine injuries. appropriate interventions, such as educational sessions, maybe able to modify risk factors such as bowling workload and bowling technique and thus reduce injury prevalence.