Proprioception of the shoulder joint in adolescent tennis players

Reer R, Fromme A, Thorwesten L, Teigelkötter T, Jerosch J

Abstract in digital collection (conference)

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the proprioceptive capability of the shoulder complex in adolescent tennis players and to find out if proprioceptive abilities depend on inheritance or learning. Material and Methods: The Shoulder proprioception of 60 adolescent volunteers (27 females, 33 males ) aged 8 to 16 years (age: 12.6 ±2.4ys, weight: 48.1 ± 14.1 Kg, height: 160.2 ± 15.5 cm) was examined by means of an angle reproduction tes. 40 subjects were tennis players, 20 non-tennis players served as a control group. Documentation of the reproduced agles were performed by a motion analyzing system with passive markers (Topo-MED 3.0 Orthodata, Germany) Results: Angle reproduction of all subjects was best in the midrange of motion (100° flexion, 100°abduction, neutral rotation in 90° abduction). The worst results were documented below shoulder level (50° flexion, 50° abduction, internal rotation in 90°abduction). A correlation to sex or dominant extremity could not be demonstrated. Subjects older than 12 years have a tendency for better angle reproduction compared to younger subjects. Tennis players older than 12 years showed significant better capabilities for angle reproduction in tennis-specific movements of the shoulder complex. Conclusion: According to these findings proprioceptive abilities are learnt rather than inherited.

Details zur Publikation

Release year: 1996
Language in which the publication is written: English