Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain
# Background Due to its significant unilateral predominance, tennis can provoke functional and morphological asymmetries that develop over time and may result in undesired morphological alterations. # Hypothesis/Purpose The goals of this study were a) to assess glenohumeral range of motion and mu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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North American Sports Medicine Institute
2025-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.26603/001c.127263 |
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| author | Joshua Colomar Javier Peña Jordi Vicens-Bordas Ernest Baiget |
| author_facet | Joshua Colomar Javier Peña Jordi Vicens-Bordas Ernest Baiget |
| author_sort | Joshua Colomar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | # Background
Due to its significant unilateral predominance, tennis can provoke functional and morphological asymmetries that develop over time and may result in undesired morphological alterations.
# Hypothesis/Purpose
The goals of this study were a) to assess glenohumeral range of motion and muscular stiffness in young tennis players with and without a history of shoulder pain and b) to examine interlimb asymmetries in these variables in both groups. It was hypothesized that players with a history of shoulder pain would show a reduced glenohumeral internal rotation (IR) and total arc of motion (TAM) and increased stiffness in internal rotator muscles compared to those without shoulder pain.
# Study Design
Cross-sectional observational study.
# Methods
Twenty-five participants participated in the study (11 with a history of shoulder pain and 14 without pain). Participants performed stiffness measurements on muscles involved in the main tennis stroke motions alongside range of motion examinations on the dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) extremities including IR, external shoulder rotation (ER), and TAM. A two-way mixed-design ANOVA analyzed group and limb effects, with effect sizes classified as small, medium, or large. Significant effects were further examined using Bonferroni post hoc tests.
# Results
There were significant differences between the shoulder pain and no shoulder pain group in the D IR (-3.1º, 6.43%, p = 0.048; effect size \[ES\] = 0.58) and D TAM (-6.1º, 3.01%, p = 0.024; ES = 0.66). Moreover, significant differences were found between the D and ND extremities in IR in both groups (-9.2º, 14.94%, p \< 0.001; ES = -1.72) and TAM in the shoulder pain group (-5.6º, 2,77%, p = 0.038; ES = 0.61). Stiffness measurements showed no significant differences between groups or extremities.
# Conclusions
Significantly lower values of D IR and TAM and higher IR asymmetries in the shoulder pain group suggest that a deficit in these parameters could be associated with shoulder pain history in junior competitors.
# Level of Evidence
2 |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6010c6a61972422a924d031d25bcd90e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2159-2896 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | North American Sports Medicine Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy |
| spelling | doaj-art-6010c6a61972422a924d031d25bcd90e2025-02-11T20:29:53ZengNorth American Sports Medicine InstituteInternational Journal of Sports Physical Therapy2159-28962025-01-01201Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder PainJoshua ColomarJavier PeñaJordi Vicens-BordasErnest Baiget# Background Due to its significant unilateral predominance, tennis can provoke functional and morphological asymmetries that develop over time and may result in undesired morphological alterations. # Hypothesis/Purpose The goals of this study were a) to assess glenohumeral range of motion and muscular stiffness in young tennis players with and without a history of shoulder pain and b) to examine interlimb asymmetries in these variables in both groups. It was hypothesized that players with a history of shoulder pain would show a reduced glenohumeral internal rotation (IR) and total arc of motion (TAM) and increased stiffness in internal rotator muscles compared to those without shoulder pain. # Study Design Cross-sectional observational study. # Methods Twenty-five participants participated in the study (11 with a history of shoulder pain and 14 without pain). Participants performed stiffness measurements on muscles involved in the main tennis stroke motions alongside range of motion examinations on the dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) extremities including IR, external shoulder rotation (ER), and TAM. A two-way mixed-design ANOVA analyzed group and limb effects, with effect sizes classified as small, medium, or large. Significant effects were further examined using Bonferroni post hoc tests. # Results There were significant differences between the shoulder pain and no shoulder pain group in the D IR (-3.1º, 6.43%, p = 0.048; effect size \[ES\] = 0.58) and D TAM (-6.1º, 3.01%, p = 0.024; ES = 0.66). Moreover, significant differences were found between the D and ND extremities in IR in both groups (-9.2º, 14.94%, p \< 0.001; ES = -1.72) and TAM in the shoulder pain group (-5.6º, 2,77%, p = 0.038; ES = 0.61). Stiffness measurements showed no significant differences between groups or extremities. # Conclusions Significantly lower values of D IR and TAM and higher IR asymmetries in the shoulder pain group suggest that a deficit in these parameters could be associated with shoulder pain history in junior competitors. # Level of Evidence 2https://doi.org/10.26603/001c.127263 |
| spellingShingle | Joshua Colomar Javier Peña Jordi Vicens-Bordas Ernest Baiget Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy |
| title | Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain |
| title_full | Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain |
| title_fullStr | Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain |
| title_short | Range of Motion and Muscle Stiffness Differences in Junior Tennis Players with and without a History of Shoulder Pain |
| title_sort | range of motion and muscle stiffness differences in junior tennis players with and without a history of shoulder pain |
| url | https://doi.org/10.26603/001c.127263 |
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