Case Report

Total Disc Replacement Surgery in a Professional Australian Rugby League Player: A Case Report

Gan, Thomas BSc, MB, BS^*; Rickenbach, Andre BHSc, MSc, Med^†; Scott-Young, Matthew FRACS^‡

^*Narrabeen Sports Medicine Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia;

^†Manly Sea Eagles, Sydney Academy of Sport, Cromer, New South Wales, Australia; and

^‡Gold Coast Spine, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Corresponding Author: Thomas Gan, BSc, MB, BS, Narrabeen Sports Medicine Centre, Sydney, NSW 2101, Australia ([email protected]).

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 30(1):p e5-e7, January 2020. | DOI: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000610

Abstract

Chronic persistent lower back pain due to degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine is a common condition in the athletic population, which does not always improve with nonoperative treatment. We present a case report of a professional Australian rugby league player with DDD of the lumbar spine presenting with persistent lower back pain, which was not responding to conventional nonsurgical treatment. He then underwent a surgical total disc replacement of the lumbar spine and was subsequently able to return to playing professional rugby league at his previous level of competition. This is the only known documented case of a professional athlete in any form of contact sport successfully returning to his previous level of function and competition after undergoing a total disc replacement of the lumbar spine.