M. Allegrucci et al., SHOULDER KINESTHESIA IN HEALTHY UNILATERAL ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN UPPER EXTREMITY SPORTS, The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 21(4), 1995, pp. 220-226
Shoulder kinesthesia has not been extensively studied in upper extremi
ty athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were
differences in threshold to detection oi passive motion between domina
nt and nondominant shoulders oi healthy overhead athletes in two posit
ions, 0 degrees and 15 degrees of external rotation. In addition, the
study attempted to determine ii there was a relationship between the r
ange oi external rotation (ER) and internal rotation (IR) and the thre
shold to detection of passive motion values. Shoulder kinesthesia was
assessed in the dominant and nondominant shoulders of 20 collegiate at
hletes participating in unilateral upper extremity sports. A proprioce
ptive testing device passively moved the shoulder into internal and ex
ternal relation. The dominant shoulder had a significantly greater dif
ficulty detecting motion compared with the nondominant arm at both 0 d
egrees and 15 degrees oi external rotation. Both shoulders exhibited e
nhanced kinesthesia (lower threshold to detection of passive motion sc
ores) at 75 degrees of external rotation compared with 0 degrees where
the glenohumeral joint capsule is relatively taut The results oi this
study suggest that healthy upper extremity athletes may have kinesthe
tic deficits in their throwing shoulder compared with their nondominan
t shoulder.