A 2015 study published in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that cricket fast bowlers with abdominal symmetry have higher incidences of low back pain than those who have abdominal muscle asymmetry.
Sixteen of the 25 teenage cricket fast bowlers in South Africa participated in the study have low back pain and nine don’t. Among those without low back pain, the researchers found that the thickness of their external obliques, internal obliques, and transversus abdominis on the non-dominant side was greater than those of the dominant side. But among those with pain, both sides of the muscles were more symmetrical than the players without pain.
The researchers hypothesized that the asymmetry on the non-dominant side “would appear to be protective rather than provocative” for low back pain, and that muscle hypertrophy is an adaptation to pain. When cricket players are compared with healthy non-athletes, the latter have more trunk symmetry with minor variability among the individuals.
More studies on trunk asymmetry
In a 2008 study, researchers found contralateral lumbar flexion and ipsilateral rotation of the trunk show a strong risk for back injury—especially when the movement is combined with a fast pitch around the time the ball is released. The relationship among injury risk, biomechanics, and asymmetry have not yet been established, which require further research, they wrote.
A 2025 systematic review on low back pain among cricket bowlers found trunk muscle studies like the quadratus lumborum and internal oblique have produced conflicting results. Researchers Farhart et al. cited methodological differences between studies, like how muscle size was measured and how few images were analyzed. They added biological variability of muscle between individuals, and the fact that some studies failed to control for important confounders like bowling workload.
“Disparities may also reflect variability in the size, number, and attachments of [quadratus lumborum] fascicles between individuals,” they wrote.
Farhart et al. pointed out that “increases in asymmetry have been linked to higher lumbopelvic lateral flexion loads in fast bowlers.” However, they added that “asymmetry may reduce lumbar loads due to the geometrical proximity of quadratus lumborum’s line of action to the centre of spinal rotation.”
The authors cautioned against blaming any single muscle in isolation, arguing that “lumbopelvic function depends on coordinated activation rather than specific muscles with unique architectural properties or mechanical advantages.”
Updated April 4, 2026. Originally published Aug. 22, 2015.
Nick Ng, BA
Nick Ng is the editor of Massage & Fitness Jounal and the managing editor for My Neighborhood News Network.
An alumni from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in graphic communications, Nick had completed his massage therapy training at International Professional School of Bodywork in San Diego in 2014. In 2021, he earned an associate’s degree in journalism at Palomar College.
When he gets a chance, he enjoys weightlifting at the gym, salsa dancing, and exploring new areas in the Puget Sound area in Washington state.
