Back pain from cricket (bowling)

[physiodawg]

HI Michael,

I hope your pain is getting better and you are getting back to your bowling. It is good that your basic bowling action is not mixed.

You may still have had a stress fracture even if it was not shown on the x-ray. They often don't, even with an oblique view as suggested in the text books. Having a mixed action is not the only risk factor one may have. The injury can be related to amount of bowling you do, the types of surfaces you play on and your own intrinsic susceptibility to stress fracture.

But a period of rest and gradual return to bowling is the treatment anyway. For young fast bowlers it is suggested that no more than 7 over spells are bowled. You could possibly apply this principle to your practice sessions as you recover. It may even be a good idea to implement while your body matures and gains the strength and resilience needed to bowl longer spells.

It may also be that some general strengthening would beneficial as well.

[physiofixme]

Hi

I'm all for thorough investigation in your situation. I'd check that the xray included oblique views. An oblique view is more likely to pick up the stress fracture that other physios have mentioned here. Standard xrays don't usually include an oblique view unless specifically asked. I'd also opt for an MRI aswell. A missed stress fracture could cause you more problems further down the track.