[Changes in the lumbosacral spine caused by sports microtraumas]

The results are reported of a clinical and radiological study of a group of athletes that investigated the often asymptomatic alterations found in the spinal area. In comparison with non-athletic controls the sportsmen revealed a significantly higher incidence in the pars intearticularis of the posterior apophysis in the lumbar region. Practitioners of sports requiring violent spasmodic effort also revealed spondylolysis and spondyloisthesis. The early appearance of lumbar degenerative arthritis in practitioners of sports requiring moderate but sustained effort was also statistically significant.