Question
My 15 year old son has been lifting weights for about a year now and mainly does squats, power cleans and bench press. He recently had some mild low back pain, so we took him to a chiropractor and they x-rayed his back and found Sacralization of the L5 & S1 vertebra. How will this effect his sports abilities such as football and weightlifting. He wants to continue them both? Thanks.

Answer
Dear Jeff,

Sacralization is considered an anatomic variant of spinal development...therefore this is not a pathology but rather a congenital defect of spinal formation.  I see this often in my practice...it is a very common finding.

The bottom line here is that this is not a contraindication to sports participation, weightlifting or anything else.  It may predispose him to the possibility of having more back pain since the area has already been irritated/injured, but I would not restrict him from playing just because of this.

What I would do is make sure that he is being properly instructed on how to perform the Olympic lifts with correct form.  I don't like to see 15 year-olds doing these lifts anyway because they have open growth plates in the long bones of the body as well as the spine which can be injured with improper heavy lifting techniques.  Most coaches in high school are not trained properly to teach these lifts and very few have any personal training credentials.  If he is going to continue to complete these lifts...then he need proper instruction...

The National Strength and Conditioning Association has great videos and instructional courses...he can even learn to be a personal trainer so that he will have the personal education to protect himself.  
www.nsca-lift.org

Hope this helps....

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net