%A Thoreson, Olof %A Svensson, Karin %A Jonasson, Pall %A Kovac, Peter %A Sward, Leif %A Baranto, Adad %D 2015 %T Back pain and MRI abnormalities in the thoraco-lumbar spine of elite long distance runners. A cross sectional study. %K Running, Low back Pain, young adult, Magnetic resonance imaging, intervertebral disc displacement, athletes, sports, physical loading, cross sectional studies. %X Study design Observational cross-sectional study. Level of evidence 3. Objective The objective was to investigate the amount of MRI abnormalities in the thoraco-lumbar spine and the prevalence of back pain in male elite long distance runners compared to a control group of non-athletes in the corresponding age. Summary of Background Studies have shown that athletes have a higher prevalence of back pain and a greater number of spinal abnormalities on MRI, such as disc degeneration, compared to non- athletes. The associations between running and both back pain and spinal MRI abnormalities have not been clarified. Data Study participants were 22 male elite long distance runners (runner group) and 25 male non- athletes (control group) of 18-28 years of age. Methods Back pain was assessed by a three part self-reported questionnaire. Sagittal T1 and T2 weighted MRI examinations from Th5 to sacrum was conducted to evaluate MRI abnormalities according to study protocol. Results The runners reported a significant higher prevalence of back pain (45%), compared to the control group (12%) (P=0.011). No statistical significant difference was found in amount of MRI verified spinal abnormalities (P=0.614) or type of abnormalities between the groups. No statistically significant correlation between back pain and MRI abnormalities was established. Conclusions Elite level male long distance runners have a significant higher prevalence of back pain but demonstrate no significant difference in the amount or type of spinal abnormalities compared to non-athletes. Further prospective studies are needed to validate the results. Keywords Running, Low back Pain, young adult, Magnetic resonance imaging, intervertebral disc displacement, athletes, sports, physical loading, cross sectional studies. %U https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/325 %J Medical Research Archives %0 Journal Article %V 2 %N 4 %@ 2375-1924 %8 2015-11-06