SHOULDER MOTION AND LAXITY IN THE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER

We studied 148 professional baseball players with no history of should er problems to assess range of motion and laxity of their dominant and nondominant shoulders. There were 72 pitchers and 76 position players . Average external rotation with the arm in 90 degrees of abduction wa s statistically greater and average internal rotation was statisticall y less in the dominant shoulders than in the nondominant shoulders, bo th in pitchers and position players. There was no statistical differen ce in forward elevation or external rotation with the arm at the side of the body in either group. Both dominant and nondominant shoulders o f pitchers had greater average range of motion in forward elevation an d external rotation (both at the side and at 90 degrees of abduction) and less average internal rotation than those of position players. Reg arding laxity testing, 61% of dominant shoulders in pitchers had a sul cus sign, as compared with 47% in position players. Also, this degree of inferior laxity was significantly greater in pitchers than in posit ion players. Differences in range of motion and laxity exist in the th rowing shoulder of athletes involved in overhead throwing motions and should be considered in rehabilitation protocols and surgical repair.