Lumbopelvic motor control in elite tennis players with and without a history of low back pain

Objectives. - The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the prevalence of impaired lumbopelvic motor control in elite tennis players with disabling episode of low back pain in the previous year.
Material and methods. - Thirty-five elite tennis players (9 males and 26 females, mean age 17.4 ± 2.6 years) from two Belgian Tennis Academies were asked to fill in questionnaires related to low back pain and to perform five lumbopelvic motor control tests (bent knee fall out test, knee lift abdominal test, sitting knee extension test, waiters bow and transversus abdominis test). A physiotherapist, blinded to the medical history of the participants, scored the performance of the players for each of the tests (0 = failed, 1 = correct) resulting in a total lumbopelvic motor control score ranging from 0 to 5.
Results. - Forty percent of players reported at least one past disabling episode of low back pain lasting more than five consecutive days in the previous year. Significant more altered lumbopelvic motor control tests were observed in players with a history of low back pain (score of 1.7 vs 3.3 in those without a history of low back pain, P < 0.001). The between-group difference was particularly marked for the bent knee fall out test, the knee lift abdominal test and the transversus abdominis test (P ≤ 0.05).
Conclusions. - The current study confirms that low back pain is common in tennis players and has pointed out an impaired motor control of the lumbopelvic region in most tennis players with a history of low back pain.