Sagittal spinal morphotype assessment in 8 to 15 years old Inline Hockey players

Pilar Sainz de Baranda; Antonio Cejudo; Victor Jesus Moreno-Alcaraz; Maria Teresa Martinez-Romero; Alba Aparicio-Sarmiento; Fernando Santonja-Medina

doi:10.7717/peerj.8229

Sagittal spinal morphotype assessment in 8 to 15 years old Inline Hockey players

PeerJ. 2020 Jan 2:8:e8229. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8229. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Pilar Sainz de Baranda¹, Antonio Cejudo¹, Victor Jesus Moreno-Alcaraz¹, Maria Teresa Martinez-Romero¹, Alba Aparicio-Sarmiento¹, Fernando Santonja-Medina²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Activity and Sport/Faculty of Sport Sciences/Campus of Excellence Mare Nostrum, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
² Department of Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, "Virgen de la Arrixaca" University Hospital/Faculty of Medicine/Campus of Excellence Mare Nostrum, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.

Abstract

Background: Physiological sagittal spinal curvatures play an important role in health and performance in sports. For that reason, several scientific studies have assessed spinal morphology in young athletes. However, to our knowledge, no study has assessed the implications of Inline Hockey (IH) practice on sagittal integrative spinal morphotype in adolescent players.

Objectives: The aims of the present study were to describe habitual sagittal spinal posture in young federated IH players and its relationship with training load and to determine the sagittal integrative spinal morphotype in these players.

Methods: An observational analysis was developed to describe the sagittal spinal morphotype in young federated IH players. A total of 74 IH players from the Technification Plan organized by the Skating Federation of the Valencian Community (aged from 8 to 15 years) participated in the study. Thoracic and lumbar curvatures of the spine were measured in a relaxed standing position (SP), in a slump sitting position (SSP) and in maximum flexion of the trunk (MFT) to determine the "Sagittal Integrative Morphotype" of all players. An unilevel inclinometer was used to quantify the sagittal spinal curvatures. The Hip Joint Angle test was used to quantify the Lumbo-Horizontal angle in flexion (L-H fx) of all participants with a goniometer.

Results: When thoracic curvature was analyzed according to normality references, it was found that 64.9% of IH players had thoracic hyperkyphosis in a SSP, while 60.8% and 74.3% of players were classified as normal in a SP and in MFT, respectively. As for the lumbar curve, 89.2% in a SP and 55.4% in MFT were normal, whereas 68.9% of IH players presented lumbar hyperkyphosis in a SSP. Regarding the "Sagittal Integrative Morphotype," only 17.6% of players were classified as "Normal" in the three measured positions for the thoracic curve, while 37.8% had "Thoracic Hyperkyphosis" and 41.8% presented "Functional Thoracic Hyperkyphosis." As for the "Sagittal Integrative Lumbar Morphotype," only 23% of athletes had a normal curve in the three positions, whereas 66.2% presented "Functional Lumbar Hyperkyphosis." When the L-H fx was evaluated, the results showed that only 16.2% of the athletes were classified as normal.

Conclusions: Federative IH practice seems to cause specific adaptations in spinal sagittal morphotype. Taking into account the "Sagittal Integrative Morphotype" only 17.6% IH players presented "Normal Morphotype" with a normal thoracic kyphosis in the three measured positions, while only 23% IH players presented "Normal Morphotype" with a normal lumbar curvature in the three assessed positions. Furthermore, only 16.2% of IH players showed normal pelvic tilt. Exercise programs to prevent or rehabilitate these imbalances in young IH players are needed.

Keywords: Alignment; Injury; Morphotype; Spine; Young athlete.

Grants and funding

The research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Grant Number: DEP2010-21793); and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports for the Training of University Teaching Staff (Grant Numbers: FPU15/05200 and FPU18/00702). This research is part of the project entitled “Study of injury risk in young athletes through artificial intelligence networks,” funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (reference: DEP2017-88775-P). This study was carried out during the research stay at the Facoltà di Scienze Motorie of Università degli Studi di Urbino “Carlo Bo” from 29/10/2018 to 03/02/2019 funded by Erasmus Teaching. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.