Elsevier

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

Volume 15, Issue 1, January–February 2006, Pages 67-71
Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

Original article
Loss of total arc of motion in collegiate baseball players

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2005.05.006Get rights and content

Published studies on asymptomatic athletes show an increase in external rotation and decrease in internal rotation while maintaining the total arc of motion of the glenohumeral joint. The purpose of this study was to determine whether overhand athletes with shoulder pain maintained their total arc of motion. Sixty-seven college-level baseball players were examined. Internal rotation and external rotation of the glenohumeral joint, measured at 90° of abduction, and total arc of shoulder motion were compared between dominant and nondominant extremities in athletes with and without shoulder pain. Dominant shoulders in the pain group had a mean arc of 136.2° compared with 145.8° in the nondominant group, for a side-to-side difference of 9.6°. We demonstrate that college-level baseball players with shoulder pain have a significant decrease in total arc of shoulder motion and internal rotation compared with their nondominant shoulder and with pain-free athletes.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Dominant and nondominant shoulders of collegiate-level baseball players were examined for shoulder range of motion, including external and internal rotation at 90° of abduction. Also recorded were age, arm dominance, position, prior history of pain in the shoulder, and prior history of shoulder surgery. All players with a prior history of shoulder surgery were excluded from the study. Pain in the shoulder at the time of the examination was categorized as none, mild (no loss in strength or

Results

A total of 67 college-level baseball players were examined. The mean player age was 19.5 years, with an age range of 17 to 25 years. Of the players, 59 (88%) were right-handed and 8 (12%) were left-handed. Of the overhand throwers, 37 (55%) had no history of shoulder pain, 10 (15%) had mild pain, 12 (18%) had moderate pain, and 8 (12%) had severe pain. There were 26 pitchers (39%) and 41 fielders (61%) in the study group. Of the 41 fielders, 7 were catchers, 16 were infielders, and 18 were

Discussion

Several theories have been proposed to explain the change in total arc of motion in the overhand thrower. These include posterior capsular contracture, anterior capsular plastic deformation, and increased humeral retroversion.7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 This study was designed to evaluate the shoulder motion in collegiate-level baseball players, comparing the difference between dominant and nondominant shoulders. Specifically, attention was directed toward internal rotation deficit and

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Cited by (86)

  • Shoulder ranges of motion and humeral torsions of injured baseball players have different characteristics depending on their pitching sides

    2021, JSES International
    Citation Excerpt :

    However, if the increase in the HTA was the only reason, the TA would not be expected to change. The fact that the TA of the throwing side in the R group decreased compared with the non-throwing side is considered to be related not only to the osseous condition of the increased humeral torsion5,19,21 but also to the soft tissue condition and posterior shoulder tightness,3,15,20 as explained by Wilk et al27 and Ruotolo et al.22 As a result, humeral head postero-superior translation may occur during the throwing motion, following by internal impingement.3,10,11,16,20 This was reflected in the physical findings of the R group.

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