Shoulder ahd hip ranges of motion and their relationship with injury history in elite tennis players

Abstract

Joint flexibility deficit has been considered to be one of the intrinsic risk factors with a higher prevalence in sports; nevertheless, there is controversy regarding the relationship between flexibility levels and the occurrence of sport injuries. Furthermore, in tennis and especially at the elite level there are only a few studies that have examined the relationship between risk factors and injury history. The main purposes of this doctoral thesis were: a) to describe the glenohumeral rotational ranges of motion (ROMs) and the hip ROMs of the dominant and non-dominant sides in elite tennis players; b) to assess the relationship between deficits and side-to-side asymmetries in the glenohumeral and hip ROMs and elite tennis players‟ history of shoulder and low back pain (LBP), respectively. Three studies were performed to achieve these objectives, one related to shoulder flexibility and the other two related to hip flexibility. Based on the results, while the shoulder on the dominant side averaged less internal rotation and total arc of rotation when compared with the non-dominant side, bilateral measurement of hip flexion, extension, abduction and rotation ROMs did not identify clinically significant differences between limbs. In addition, although no significant differences between tennis players with and without a history of shoulder pain were found for the side-to-side glenohumeral ROM asymmetries, limited internal rotation and total arc of rotation seem to be associated with shoulder pain history in professional tennis players. Regarding hip ROMs, restricted values of hip flexion, extension and abduction ROM were found in both limbs for males and females, and male tennis players reported restricted hip internal rotation ROM. However, no meaningful differences were found in hip extension and rotation ROMs between elite tennis players with and without a history of LBP. Overall, this doctoral thesis provides useful information to assist clinicians and tennis professionals in the identification of athletes with possible hip and/or shoulder abnormalities, who therefore may be at risk of injury.