• Benjamin L Gray, Jacob M Buchowski, David B Bumpass, Ronald A Lehman, Nathan A Mall, and Matthew J Matava.
• *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO †Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD; and ‡St. Louis Center for Cartilage Restoration and Repair, Regeneration Orthopedics, St. Louis, MO.
• Spine. 2013 Oct 15; 38 (38): 1934-8.

Study DesignRetrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database.ObjectiveTo determine the overall incidence, location, and type of disc herniations in professional football players to target treatment issues and prevention.Summary Of Background DataDisc herniations represent a common and debilitating injury to the professional athlete. The NFL's (National Football League's) Sports Injury Monitoring System is a surveillance database created to monitor the league for all injuries, including injuries to the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed on all disc herniations to the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine during a 12-season period (2000-2012) using the NFL's surveillance database. The primary data points included the location of the injury, player position, activity at time of injury, and playing time lost due to injury.ResultsDuring the 12 seasons, 275 disc herniations occurred in the spine. In regard to location, 76% occurred in the lumbar spine and most frequently affected the L5-S1 disc. The offensive linemen were most frequently injured. As expected, blocking was the activity that caused most injuries. Lumbar disc herniations rose in prevalence and had a mean loss of playing time of more than half the season (11 games). Thoracic disc herniations led to the largest mean number of days lost overall, whereas players with cervical disc herniations missed the most practices.ConclusionDisc herniations represent a significant cause of morbidity in the NFL. Although much attention is placed on spinal cord injuries, preventive measures targeting the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine may help to reduce the overall incidence of these debilitating injuries.Level of Evidence: N/A.

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