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Lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration in elite competitive swimmers: a case control study

Koji Kaneoka1, Ken Shimizu, Mika Hangai

  • 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan. seikei@md.tsukuba.ac.jp

The American Journal of Sports Medicine
|April 5, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Elite swimmers show higher rates of lumbar disc degeneration, particularly at the L5-S1 segment, compared to recreational swimmers. This suggests excessive swimming may accelerate spinal disc aging.

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