Rehabilitation of Football Players With Lumbar Spine Injury (Part 2 of 2)

In brief: Football is a collision sport that places tremendous demands on the lumbar spine. With a thorough, rational rehabilitation program, players who sustain injuries to the lumbar spine can return to competition. Part 1 of this article discussed the pain-control phase of the rehabilitation plan for football players with low back pain. In this concluding article, the author discusses the second phase of rehabilitation-the training phase-which emphasizes movement training and exercises for strengthening the abdominal muscles, in order to stabilize the lumbar spine.