Spinal Shrinkage in Cricket Bowling

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This article on spinal shrinkage among cricket fast bowlers will be of

interest to other cricketing enthusiasts.

Ergonomics 1994 Jan; 37(1):127-32

Spinal shrinkage in fast bowling.

Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool s University, UK.

The load on the spine during physical activities may be reflected in

decreases in shrinkage. Spinal shrinkage reflects the creep behaviour of the

intervertebral discs and compression when loaded. This study was concerned

with shrinkage induced during practices corresponding to fast bowling in

cricket, an activity associated with risk of back injury.

Eight cricketers (aged 19-24 years), all free of back pain, acted as

subjects. They were first trained for measurement on the stadiometer until 10

consecutive recordings of stature with SD < 0.5 mm could be produced. A 20

min period of standing was used for standardization purposes prior to

experimental work which took place indoors between 12:00 and 16:00 hours. The

experimental conditions were (i) standing for 30 min; (ii) bowling for 30 min

at a rate of once every 30 s from a 14 m run-up; (iii) a run-up (without

bowling) of 14 m for 30 min once every 30 s; (iv) inverted at an angle of 50

degrees for 5 min; (v) inverted at an angle of 50 degrees for 5 min prior to

bowling once every 30 s for 30 min from a 14 m run-up. These conditions were

presented to the subject on five separate days.

Stature was not affected by the 30 min standing, used for control purposes

(mean shrinkage 0.1 mm). Bowling caused a decrease in stature of 2.30 (±

1.58) mm in 30 min (p < 0.05). Stature did not decrease significantly (mean

shrinkage 0.29 mm) when only the run-up was performed

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Dr Mel C Siff

Denver, USA

Supertraining/