The cricketer's shoulder and injury: Asymmetries in range of movement and muscle length.

Benita Olivier,Bhakti Lala,Nadia Gillion

doi:10.4102/sajp.v76i1.754

Benita Olivier, Bhakti Lala + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v76i1.754

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Abstract

BackgroundShoulder injuries in cricket are often undetected and untreated.ObjectivesTo determine whether there are associations between shoulder internal and external rotation range of movement (ROM), throwing arc (TA) ROM, glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD), external rotation gain (ERG), pectoralis minor muscle length and the incidence of shoulder injury during the first 3 months of a cricket season amongst provincial and club cricketers.MethodMale, actively participating, provincial and club cricketers were included in this prospective longitudinal cohort study. The independent variables included shoulder pain, which did not limit participation in cricket training and matches; shoulder external and internal rotation (ROM, TA ROM, GIRD and ERG) and pectoralis minor muscle length. Time-loss dominant shoulder injury was recorded for 3 months.ResultsNine of the 32 participants sustained dominant shoulder injuries. Initial non-time-loss shoulder pain during baseline testing was associated with time-loss in-season shoulder injury (p = 0.007). Statistically significant side-to-side differences were found for all of the independent variables (internal rotation ROM, TA ROM and pectoralis minor muscle length distance), with the exception of external rotation ROM, amongst the uninjured players.ConclusionNon-time-loss-defined shoulder pain in actively participating cricketers seems to be a precursor to time-loss shoulder injury. Asymmetries in ROM and pectoralis minor muscle length in uninjured cricketers may have a protective role to play in the case of shoulder injury.Clinical implicationsThe presence of shoulder pain and asymmetries in ROM should be investigated during the pre-season screening procedures, and early intervention should be implemented where appropriate.

Highlights

The prevalence rate of seasonal shoulder injury in professional cricketers is 23%, which includes player-reported injuries (Ranson & Gregory 2008)
The data http://www.sajp.co.za pertaining to four participants were removed before the analysis, as they had not been exposed to the typical cricket training and match workloads during the season
All of the shoulder injuries were on the dominant side and were examples of the gradual onset of non-contact injuries, eight of which occurred as a result of throwing, whilst one was as a result of bowling

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence rate of seasonal shoulder injury in professional cricketers is 23%, which includes player-reported injuries (i.e. pain experienced during cricket matches, training and activities of daily living) (Ranson & Gregory 2008). Glenohumeral joint injuries in overhead athletes occur mostly during the late cocking (Mihata et al 2015) and the follow-through phase of throwing (Kinsella et al 2014). The anterior inferior glenohumeral ligament stretches during the late cocking phase (Mihata et al 2015), or humeral retroversion adaptations occur (Reagan et al 2002), resulting in an increase in the external rotation (ER) range of movement (ROM) and an anterior capsule instability (Mihata et al 2015). During the deceleration and follow-through phase, excessive distractive forces may cause tearing of, or tension in, the posterior joint capsule, and subsequent healing may result in a decline in internal rotation (IR) ROM (Dashottar & Borstad 2012).

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