Biomechanical considerations for clinical application in athletes with low back pain

Biomechanical concepts of the effects of lumbar spine load transmission, flexion and extension stresses, contact pressure in facet joints, and load transmissibility function of intervertebral discs are presented. These concepts serve as a basis for discussion of some innovative approaches to treatment of low back pain in the athlete. In addition, explanations of extremes of spinal extension and flexion related to back pain, coupling mechanisms as a basis for spinal motion, and discogenic pain as the primary etiology for back pain in athletes are offered.