Paper #177 Effect of pre‐existing back pain on the incidence and severity of back pain in collegiate rowers

In a previous study, Teitz et al found a 32% incidence of back pain in intercollegiate rowers. They questioned whether athletes with pre-existing back pain should be prohibited from participating in intercollegiate rowing. This study examines the effect of pre-rowing back pain on back pain during college rowing. Surveys were sent to 4680 former intercollegiate rowing athletes. 2165 surveys were returned (46%). 156 (8.5%) of the respondents reported back pain before rowing. 57.1% of subjects with pain before rowing had back pain during college rowing whereas only 36.6% of those without back pain before rowing developed back pain in college (p < 0.001). 54% of those with pre-rowing pain missed practice because of back pain, compared to 61% of those with no pre-rowing pain (p = 0.2). 8% of those with pre-rowing pain ended their college rowing careers, compared to 16% of those without pre-rowing pain (p = 0.05). For subjects with pain before rowing, 78.8% missed less than 1 week whereas only 5.9% missed more than 1 month. For subjects with no pain before rowing, 61.9% missed less than 1 week while 18.1% missed more than 1 month (p = 0.004). College rowers with pre-existing back pain are more likely than rowers with no previous back pain to have pain when rowing in college. However, rowers with pre-existing back pain are no more likely to miss practice, they return to sport more quickly when they do miss practice, and they are less likely to end their college rowing careers because of back pain.