Two-Stage Surgical Treatment of Combined Lumbar Spine Stenosis in a Professional Football Player

Playing football (American soccer) at the elite level places extremely high demands on the spine. The choice of treatment for lumbar spinal canal stenosis combined with spondylolysis and anterolisthesis is challenging for surgeons, physicians, and clinicians.

A 28-year-old elite football player from the leading Russian football club is the focus of this case study. Patient complained of constant low back pain radiating to the posterior surface of the right thigh and limited mobility in the lumbar spine.

The patient was diagnosed with degenerative stenosis of the spinal canal at the L5 to S1 level, L4 to L5 disc herniation, spondylolysis, and anterolisthesis of L5 vertebra.

Two-stage surgery of combined lumbar spine pathology was performed in May 2021. The first stage of surgical treatment included the spinal and foraminal canals decompression at the L4 to L5 and L5 to S1 levels, as well as posterior fusion with rigid pedicle screws. The second stage involved the subsequent replacement of the rigid to dynamic semirigid rods as signs of the bone defect healing appeared. The athlete returned to team training 6 months after the first stage of surgery and was able to play football at the elite level without restrictions 1 year after the first stage and just 30 days following the second stage of surgical treatment. The athlete continues his career as of the last manuscript's revision.

This method holds potential as an effective approach in the treatment of combined lumbar spine pathology among elite athletes.