J. Nyland et al., SHOULDER ROTATOR TORQUE AND WHEELCHAIR DEPENDENCE DIFFERENCES OF NATIONAL-WHEELCHAIR-BASKETBALL-ASSOCIATION PLAYERS, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 78(4), 1997, pp. 358-363
Objective: Shoulder rotator muscle imbalances can contribute to subacr
omial impingement. The forces and movement patterns of wheelchair loco
motion may contribute to these imbalances. This study attempted to det
ermine whether National Wheelchair Basketball Association players of d
iffering classifications had significant differences (p less than or e
qual to .05) in concentric isokinetic peak shoulder rotator torque and
torque ratios, and wheelchair locomotion dependence. Design: Fifty-se
ven (class 1 = 12, class 2 = 24, class 3 = 21) of 117 total tournament
participants (class 1 = 25, class 2 = 49, class 3 = 43) served as the
convenience sample of volunteers for the survey portion, and 33 of th
ese subjects (class 1 = 11, class 2 = 12, class 3 = 10) also entered t
he isokinetic portion of this study. Setting: National wheelchair bask
etball tournament. Results: Class 1 and 2 players had greater wheelcha
ir dependence than class 3 players (p less than or equal to .05). Peak
torque or torque ratios generally did not differ among player classif
ications or with other populations. Class 1 players had weaker nondomi
nant shoulder external rotator torque production at 60 degrees/sec (p
less than or equal to .03) compared with other classes and at 180 degr
ees/sec compared with class 3 players (p = .02), suggesting an inabili
ty to develop the ''attenuation of dominance'' noted among other group
s. Diminished torque-producing capacity at 60 degrees/sec related to g
reater wheelchair dependence among class 1 players (p = .034). Conclus
ions: Class 1 players failed to demonstrate the acquired shoulder exte
rnal rotator torque symmetry evident among class 2 and 3 players (with
specific weakness of the nondominant shoulder external rotators). Thi
s torque symmetry difference was related to their greater dependence o
n wheelchair locomotion. (C) 1997 by the American Congress of Rehabili
tation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Reha
bilitation.