The efficacy of injury screening for lower back pain in elite golfers.
Samantha-Lynn Quinn, Benita Olivier, Warrick McKinon
PMID 36873959WHAT IT FOUND
Movement screening failed to identify young elite male golfers at risk for lower back pain.
Only three of thirty tests showed weak associations, and the injured group actually scored better on those tests. Do not use these screens to predict injury.
Key findings
01Movement screening is not useful to screen young elite male golfers at risk of developing lower back pain.
02The group that developed lower back pain performed better than the uninjured group in rotational stability tests and the plank test.
03The authors recommend continuing functional movement screening to establish rapport and baseline function, but not as a tool to identify golfers at risk of lower back pain.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only male golfers, so results may not apply to women. The sample size was small (41 participants), which limits the power to detect subtle risk factors. The injured group had significantly lower BMI and body mass than the uninjured group, which may have influenced the results independently of movement quality. Performing 30 tests at once may have caused fatigue, potentially affecting test scores. The statistical associations found were weak, raising the possibility of false positives due to the large number of tests performed.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was conducted at the Golf School of Excellence, but no external commercial funding is mentioned in the text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the finding that injured golfers scored better on stability tests as evidence that core strength causes injury. The authors attribute this to the weak effect sizes and the high number of tests performed, which increases the risk of false positive findings.