Reliability of Posterior Shoulder Endurance Test in Overhead Athletes

Reliability of Posterior Shoulder Endurance Test in Overhead Athletes and Comparison of Athletes With and Without Shoulder Pain

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of posterior shoulder endurance test in overhead athletes and to compare the endurance of posterior shoulder muscles between athletes with and without shoulder pain.

A total of 40 overhead athletes, 20 with shoulder pain and 20 with no shoulder pain, will be included in the study. Shoulder endurance will be measured as isometric and isotonic on both arms of athletes using the posterior shoulder endurance test. The measurements will be repeated after 3-7 days, and the test-retest reliability of the isotonic and isometric posterior shoulder endurance test will be investigated.

Inclusion Criteria:

For all athletes:

• Being between the ages of 13-24,
• Participating to overhead sports (tennis, volleyball, handball, etc.),
• Training at least 2-3 hours a week,
• Active participation in training and competitions,
• To be able to complete all assessments in the study,

For athletes with shoulder pain:

• Shoulder pain is 3/10 or more in the Visual Analogue Scale.

For Athletes without shoulder pain:

• No shoulder pain (0/10 according to Visual Analog Scale)
• No history of a shoulder injury and/or shoulder symptoms requiring treatment for the past 1 year.
• Having 90/100 or higher results in Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinical Shoulder & Elbow Score

Exclusion Criteria:

• Bilateral shoulder pain,
• Upper extremity fracture history,
• Surgical history of shoulder, cervical and thoracic region,
• Diagnosis of musculoskeletal disease in the cervical region, elbow, and wrist,
• Neck and shoulder pain with active/passive cervical spine movement,
• Frozen shoulder,
• Multidirectional joint hypermobility,
• Having a systemic musculoskeletal disease,
• Diagnosis of chest deformity and scoliosis.