"Fantasy Points" Associated with Professional Athlete Performance After Lumbar Discectomy or Microdiscectomy

Overview

Journal Spartan Med Res J

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2022 Mar 16

PMID 35291710

Authors

Marvin Kajy

Devan O Higginbotham

Guy Ball

Rahul Vaidya

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: The treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation (LDH) in elite athletes is a debated topic that lacks consensus in the literature due to varying outcome reporting methods. The objective of this study was to quantify the overall performance of a sample of professional athletes before and after receiving a lumbar discectomy or microdiscectomy in a cohort of players in the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB).

Methods: The authors identified publicly accessible data from a cohort of different types of professional players who received either a lumbar discectomy or a microdiscectomy. These records were identified through newspaper archives, injury reports, player profiles and press releases between 1993 through 2015. Fantasy and Wins Above Replacement (WAR) scores were calculated for each player.

Results: A total of 38 professional players met study inclusion criteria. NFL players had the lowest return-to-play (RTP) at nine of 14 (64%). The RTP for NBA, NHL and MLB players were comparable with 6/7 (86%) vs 8/9 (89%) vs 7/8 (88%). NFL players had the lowest average career length after surgery at 34.8 months, while NBA players had the longest average career length at 48 months. MLB players on average required the longest time to return to presurgical level of performance (24 months) and required the longest average recovery time at 12 months.

Conclusions: Based on these results, the average performance of most elite athletes are likely to decrease after undergoing a lumbar discectomy. Although it appears that performance peaks in the initial years after the operation for some players, there was an overall long-term decline in this sample of elite athletes. Study limitations included small sample size, lack of controlling for possible confounding variables (e.g., age, etc.) and use of variable reporting sources. Additional studies with larger sample sizes and age-matched controls are needed to examine the effects of lumbar discectomy more comprehensively in elite athletes.

Citing Articles

Return to Play, Performance, and Earnings Analysis After Lumbar Disc Herniation in National Hockey League Players.

Gaudiani M, Castle J, Easton M, Sprys-Tellner T, Wolterink T, Haan J Global Spine J. 2024; 15(2):1251-1262.

PMID: 38330937 PMC: 11571298. DOI: 10.1177/21925682241232338.

Use of Fantasy Points in Evaluating Professional Athlete Performance After Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction.

Kajy M, Higginbotham D, Etemad-Rezaie A, Ball G, Vaidya R Cureus. 2023; 15(3):e35855.

PMID: 37033596 PMC: 10078163. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.35855.

References

Nair R, Kahlenberg C, Hsu W . Outcomes of Lumbar Discectomy in Elite Athletes: The Need for High-level Evidence. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014; 473(6):1971-7. PMC: 4419017. DOI: 10.1007/s11999-014-3762-z. View

Huang T, Lee K, Tsai T, Su Y, Hwang S . Posterior epidural migration of sequestrated lumbar disc fragments into the bilateral facet joints: case report. Neurosurgery. 2011; 69(5):E1148-51. DOI: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e3182245b21. View

Carragee E, Helms E, OSullivan G . Are postoperative activity restrictions necessary after posterior lumbar discectomy? A prospective study of outcomes in 50 consecutive cases. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1996; 21(16):1893-7. DOI: 10.1097/00007632-199608150-00013. View

Anakwenze O, Namdari S, Auerbach J, Baldwin K, Weidner Z, Lonner B . Athletic performance outcomes following lumbar discectomy in professional basketball players. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2010; 35(7):825-8. DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181d3cf45. View

Hangai M, Kaneoka K, Hinotsu S, Shimizu K, Okubo Y, Miyakawa S . Lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration in athletes. Am J Sports Med. 2008; 37(1):149-55. DOI: 10.1177/0363546508323252. View

Long D . Decision making in lumbar disc disease. Clin Neurosurg. 1992; 39:36-51. View

Atlas S, Deyo R . Evaluating and managing acute low back pain in the primary care setting. J Gen Intern Med. 2001; 16(2):120-31. PMC: 1495170. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2001.91141.x. View

Gibson J, Waddell G . Surgical interventions for lumbar disc prolapse: updated Cochrane Review. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007; 32(16):1735-47. DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3180bc2431. View

Yoshimoto M, Takebayashi T, Ida K, Tanimoto K, Yamashita T . Microendoscopic discectomy in athletes. J Orthop Sci. 2013; 18(6):902-8. DOI: 10.1007/s00776-013-0442-x. View

10.

Atlas S, Nardin R . Evaluation and treatment of low back pain: an evidence-based approach to clinical care. Muscle Nerve. 2003; 27(3):265-84. DOI: 10.1002/mus.10311. View

11.

Kalen A, Perez-Ferreiros A, Costa P, Rey E . Effects of age on physical and technical performance in National Basketball Association (NBA) players. Res Sports Med. 2020; 29(3):277-288. DOI: 10.1080/15438627.2020.1809411. View

12.

Schroeder G, McCarthy K, Micev A, Terry M, Hsu W . Performance-based outcomes after nonoperative treatment, discectomy, and/or fusion for a lumbar disc herniation in National Hockey League athletes. Am J Sports Med. 2013; 41(11):2604-8. DOI: 10.1177/0363546513499229. View

13.

Kurihara A, Kataoka O . Lumbar disc herniation in children and adolescents. A review of 70 operated cases and their minimum 5-year follow-up studies. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1980; 5(5):443-51. View

14.

Abbas M, Khalil L, Rahman T, Abbas L, Akioyamen N, Farley B . Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Does Not Impact Career Earnings After Return to Play in National Basketball Association Athletes. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2021; 3(5):e1491-e1497. PMC: 8527322. DOI: 10.1016/j.asmr.2021.07.010. View

15.

Earhart J, Roberts D, Roc G, Gryzlo S, Hsu W . Effects of lumbar disk herniation on the careers of professional baseball players. Orthopedics. 2012; 35(1):43-9. DOI: 10.3928/01477447-20111122-40. View

16.

Wang J, Shapiro M, Hatch J, Knight J, Dorey F, Delamarter R . The outcome of lumbar discectomy in elite athletes. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1999; 24(6):570-3. DOI: 10.1097/00007632-199903150-00014. View

17.

Matava M . Editorial Commentary: Want to Play in the National Football League? Not For Long If You Have an Untreated Cartilage Defect of the Knee. Arthroscopy. 2018; 34(3):678-680. DOI: 10.1016/j.arthro.2017.10.017. View

18.

Weistroffer J, Hsu W . Return-to-play rates in National Football League linemen after treatment for lumbar disk herniation. Am J Sports Med. 2011; 39(3):632-6. DOI: 10.1177/0363546510388901. View

19.

Hangai M, Kaneoka K, Okubo Y, Miyakawa S, Hinotsu S, Mukai N . Relationship between low back pain and competitive sports activities during youth. Am J Sports Med. 2010; 38(4):791-6. DOI: 10.1177/0363546509350297. View

20.

Amin N, Old A, Tabb L, Garg R, Toossi N, Cerynik D . Performance outcomes after repair of complete achilles tendon ruptures in national basketball association players. Am J Sports Med. 2013; 41(8):1864-8. DOI: 10.1177/0363546513490659. View