Factors Associated with Low Back Overuse Injuries in Sports Science Students – A Prospective Study

Basic characteristics of participants of the study of factors associated with LBP in sports science students of Ljubljana University Faculty of Sports; n=54.

Characteristic	Category	Count (%)	Mean±SD
Sex	Females	25 (46.3%)
	Males	29 (53.7%)
Age (years)			19.1±0.6
BMI (kg/m2)			22.4±2.2
BMI	Normal weight	47 (87.0%)
	Overweight	7 (13.0%)

1 Legend: LBP=low back pain; SD=standard deviation; BMI=body mass index

Table 2.

Basic characteristics of explanatory factors for LBP in sports science students of Ljubljana University Faculty of Sports; n=54.

Group of factors	Factor	Category	Count (%)	Mean±SD
BIOCHEMICAL FACTORS
	Iron [μmol/L]			18.5±6.6
	Ferritin [μg/L]			51.6±29.1
	Ferritin level	Normal	37 (68.5%)
		Low	17 (31.5%)
	Haemoglobin [g/L]			141.7±14.7
PHYSICAL FITNESS FACTORS
Balance	Overall PSV left [mm/s]			38.4±9.1
	Overall PSV right [mm/s]			37.2±8.6
	AP PSV left [mm/s]			23.8±5.8
	AP PSV right [mm/s]			23.2±5.8
	ML PSV left [mm/s]			25.6±6.4
	ML PSV right [mm/s]			24.6±5.8
Vertical jump	SJ height [cm]			27.0.0±5.0
	SJ power [W/kg]			48.1±7.4
	CMJ height [cm]			30.0±7.0
	CMJ power [W/kg]			47.1±7.7
Trunk strength	Extension [Nm]			229.1±98.1
	Flexion [Nm]			181.4±79.5
	Lateral flexion left [Nm]			162.9±70.3
	Lateral flexion right [Nm]			161.3±75.0
Knee strength	Extension left [N]			193.8±55.1
	Extension right [N]			184.1±54.9
	Flexion left [N]			106.9±32.6
	Flexion right [N]			112.4±35.7
Ankle strength	Plantar flexion [N]			250.5±83.1
	Plantar flexion left [N]			126.5±43.2
	Plantar flexion right [N]			124.9±41.2
	Dorsal flexion [N]			75.1±28.5
	Dorsal flexion left [N]			34.3±15.0
	Dorsal flexion right [N]			41.2±13.9
WORKLOAD AND SLEEP FACTORS
	Training (h)			8.9±5.3
	Practical courses (h)			8.0±3.0
	Sleep quantity (h)			6.9±0.7
	Sleep deficit	No	24 (44.5%)
		Yes	30 (55.6%)
	Sleep quality (VAS)			6.3±1.5
PREVIOUS INJURY FACTORS
	Previous LBP	No	35 (64.8%)
		Yes	19 (35.2%)
	Previous knee injury	No	47 (87.0%)
		Yes	7 (13.0%)

1 Legend: LBP=low back pain; SD=standard deviation; PSV=postural sway velocity; AP=anterior-posterior; ML=medial-lateral; SJ=squat jump; CMJ=countermovement jump; VAS=visual analogue scale

Table 3.

Results of univariate analysis of relationship between LBP and different explanatory factors in sports science students of Ljubljana University Faculty of Sports; n=54.

Group of factors	Factor	Category	OR (95% CI for OR)	p
BIOCHEMICAL FACTORS	Iron [μmol/L]		0.98 (0.91-1.08)	0.764
	Ferritin [μg/L]		0.99 (0.97-1.01)	0.282
	Ferritin level	Normal	1.00	0.043
		Low	3.50 (1.04-11.77)
	Haemoglobin [g/L]		0.98 (0.94-1.02)	0.232
PHYSICAL FITNESS FACTORS
Balance	Overall PSV left [mm/s]		0.99 (0.94-1.06)	0.928
	Overall PSV right [mm/s]		0.98 (0.92-1.05)	0.611
	AP PSV left [mm/s]		1.01 (0.92-1.12)	0.779
	AP PSV right [mm/s]		0.98 (0.89-1.08)	0.684
	ML PSV left [mm/s]		0.98 (0.89-1.07)	0.655
	ML PSV right [mm/s]		0.97 (0.87-1.07)	0.549
Vertical jump	SJ height [cm]		0.00 (0.00-2.19)	0.068
	SJ power [W/kg]		0.93 (0.85-1.01)	0.098
	CMJ height [cm]		0.00 (0.00-1.16)	0.054
	CMJ power [W/kg]		0.92 (0.84-0.99)	0.044
Trunk strength	Extension [Nm]		0.99 (0.99-1.00)	0.059
	Flexion [Nm]		0.99 (0.98-0.99)	0.030
	Lateral flexion left [Nm]		0.99 (0.99-1.01)	0.451
	Lateral flexion right [Nm]		0.99 (0.99-1.00)	0.170
Knee strength	Extension left [N]		0.99 (0.98-1.00)	0.096
	Extension right [N]		0.99 (0.98-1.00)	0.103
	Flexion left [N]		0.98 (0.96-0.99)	0.026
	Flexion right [N]		0.98 (0.96-1.00)	0.045
Ankle strength	Plantar flexion [N]		0.99 (0.98-1.02)	0.687
	Plantar flexion left [N]		0.99 (0.96-1.04)	0.769
	Plantar flexion right [N]		0.99 (0.95-1.04)	0.724
	Dorsal flexion [N]		0.99 (0.99-1.00)	0.093
	Dorsal flexion left [N]		0.99 (0.98-1.00)	0.115
	Dorsal flexion right [N]		0.99 (0.97-1.00)	0.086
WORKLOAD AND SLEEP FACTORS
	Training (h)		0.99 (0.98-1.01)	0.842
	Practical courses (h)		1.02 (0.99-1.04)	0.144
	Sleep quantity (h)		0.57 (0.23-1.41)	0.221
	Sleep deficit	No	1.00	0.087
		Yes	2.91 (0.86-9.86)
	Sleep quality (VAS)		0.77 (0.51-1.16)	0.218
PREVIOUS INJURY FACTORS
	Previous LBP	No	1.00	0.007
		Yes	5.50 (1.61-18.84)
	Previous knee injury	No	1.00	0.775
		Yes	0.78 (0.14-4.45)
CONFOUNDING FACTORS
	Sex	Males	1.00	0.127
		Females	2.47 (0.77-7.88)
	BMI	Overweight	1.00	0.275
		Normal weight	0.29 (0.03-2.65)

1 Legend: LBP=low back pain; OR=odds ratio; CI=confidence interval; PSV=postural sway velocity; AP=anterior-posterior; ML=medial-lateral; SJ=squat jump; CMJ=countermovement jump; VAS=visual analogue scale

Table 4.

Results of multivariate analysis of relationship between LBP and different explanatory factors in sports science students adjusted for BMI and sex; n=54.

Factor	Category	OR (95% CI for OR)	p
Ferritin level	Normal	1.00	0.008
	Low	8.70 (1.78-42.60)
Previous LBP	No	1.00	0.006
	Yes	8.69 (1.94-38.98)

1 Legend: LBP=low back pain; OR=odds ratio; CI=confidence interval.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2025-0008 | Journal eISSN: 1854-2476 | Journal ISSN: 0351-0026

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Language: English, Slovenian

Page range: 59 - 67

Submitted on: Aug 19, 2024

Accepted on: Oct 11, 2024

Published on: Jan 2, 2025

Published by: National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

Related subjects:

Hygiene and environmental medicine

© 2025 Maja MIKŠA PODOBNIK, Nejc ŠARABON, Marjan BILBAN, Vedran HADŽIĆ, published by National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 64 (2025): Issue 1 (March 2025)