ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2023
Prevalence of degenerative vertebral disc changes in elite female Crossfit athletes - a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Exercise on Intervertebral Disc Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Elite rock-climbers exhibit early signs of degenerative spinal changes; enhanced analysis using quantitative MRI.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Low Back Pain and Disc Degeneration in Elite Cross-Country Skiers: A Comparative Study With Non-Athlete Controls.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2025Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCrossfit athletes consistently recruit or transfer high levels of repetitive forces through the spine, and MRI has documented a higher rate of intervertebral disc degeneration in athletes compared with matched controls. The aim of this study was to evaluate early degenerative spinal disc changes in elite female CrossFit athletes quantified by 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) matched with female none-athletes.
methodsIn a cross-sectional single-center study 19 asymptomatic adult participants, nine German female elite Crossfit athletes and ten female participants underwent spinal MRI (3.0T). Demographic data, spinal clinical examination results and sport-specific performance parameters were collected prior to the MRI. The primary outcome was the prevalence of degenerative spinal disc changes. The secondary outcome was the grade of degeneration using Pfirrmann grading.
resultsA total of 437 discs underwent spinal MRI (3.0T). The prevalence of early degenerative disc disease was not increased. Pfirrmann degenerative grade did not show significant differences among groups.
conclusionAsymptomatic female elite Crossfit athletes do not show an increased prevalence of degenerative disc disease. Compared to a sex-matched control group, high training volume in Crossfit does not correlate to a higher incidence of degenerative disc changes in young females.
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Registered trials
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