The effect of motor control training on abdominal muscle contraction during simulated weight bearing in elite cricketers

•Automatic abdominal muscle contraction is altered in cricketers with low back pain.•Motor control training changes automatic abdominal muscle contraction during a task.•A motor control training program may reduce muscle imbalances in elite cricketers.

ObjectivesTo investigate whether motor control training alters automatic contraction of abdominal muscles in elite cricketers with low back pain (LBP) during performance of a simulated unilateral weight-bearing task.DesignClinical trial.Methods26 male elite-cricketers attended a 13-week cricket training camp. Prior to the camp, participants were allocated to a LBP or asymptomatic group. Real-time ultrasound imaging was used to assess automatic abdominal muscle response to axial loading. During the camp, the LBP group performed a staged motor control training program. Following the camp, the automatic response of the abdominal muscles was re-assessed.ResultsAt pre-camp assessment, when participants were axially loaded with 25% of their own bodyweight, the LBP group showed a 15.5% thicker internal oblique (IO) muscle compared to the asymptomatic group (p = 0.009). The post-camp assessment showed that participants in the LBP group demonstrated less contraction of the IO muscle in response to axial loading compared with the asymptomatic group. A trend was found in the automatic recruitment pattern of the transversus abdominis (p = 0.08).ConclusionsMotor control training normalized excessive contraction of abdominal muscles in response to a low load task. This may be a useful strategy for rehabilitation of cricketers with LBP.