Acute Physiological Response of Lumbar Intervertebral Discs to High-load Deadlift Exercise

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the acute physiological effects of high-load deadlift exercise on the lumbar intervertebral discs using MR diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).

Methods: Fifteen volunteers (11 men and 4 women; 23.2 ± 3.3 years) without lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration performed deadlift exercise (70% of 1 repetition maximum, 6 repetitions, 5 sets, 90 s rest between sets) using a Smith machine. Sagittal MR diffusion-weighted images of the lumbar intervertebral discs were obtained using a 1.5-Tesla MR system with a spine coil before and immediately after the exercise. We calculated apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC; an index of water movement) of the nucleus pulposus from diffusion weighted images at all lumbar intervertebral discs (L1/2 through L5/S1).

Results: All lumbar intervertebral discs showed significantly decreased ADC values immediately after deadlift exercise (L1/2, -2.8%; L2/3, -2.1%; L3/4, -2.8%; L4/5, -4.9%; L5/S1, -6.2%; P < 0.01). In addition, the rate of ADC decrease of the L5/S1 disc was significantly greater than those of the L1/2 (P = 0.017), L2/3 (P < 0.01), and L3/4 (P = 0.02) discs.

Conclusion: The movement of water molecules within the lumbar intervertebral discs is suppressed by high-load deadlift exercise, which would be attributed to mechanical stress on the lumbar intervertebral discs during deadlift exercise. In particular, the L5/S1 disc is subjected to greater mechanical stress than the other lumbar intervertebral discs.

Keywords: intradiscal water movement; lifting; lumbar spine; magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted image; mechanical stress.

Fig. 1

The start (a) and finish (b) positions of high-load deadlift exercise. The participants lifted and lowered a weight corresponding to 70% of their 1 repetition maximum using a Smith machine.

Fig. 2

The percentage change in the apparent diffusion coefficient values of 5 lumbar intervertebral discs before and immediately after high-load deadlift exercise.

Fig. 3

Sagittal ADC maps of the lumbar spine of a representative subject (23-year-old male) before and immediately after high-load deadlift exercise. The color-coded pixels on the ADC map correspond to the absolute values of ADC in the tissues. Compared with the pre-exercise ADC map, the post-exercise ADC map shows a decrease in the red region within the L5/S1 IVD (circle). ADC, apparent diffusion coefficient; IVD, intervertebral disc.