Range of Motion & Strength in the Shoulder of Female Athletes

Authors

Claire Romo, Southwestern UniversityFollow
Scott McLean, Southwestern UniversityFollow

Abstract

Given the extensive shoulder movements in athletes who perform overhead movements, it was anticipated that these athletes would present with stronger shoulders that could achieve a greater range of motion. PURPOSE: This study examined shoulder range of motion (ROM) and isometric strength in internal (IR) and external (ER) rotation in overhead (OH) and non-overhead (NO) athletes. METHODS: Twelve OH female athletes (19.9±0.9 yr, 174.4±6.4cm, 68.1±9.6 kg) and 10 NO female athletes (20±0.9 yr,167.4±6.3 cm, 64.9±10.4 kg) participated from an NCAA Division 3 school. Exclusion criteria included male athletes, athletes with shoulder injuries, dual sport athletes, and non-athletes. Participants completed a shoulder warm-up and three trials of each assessment. The range of motion was measured using a standard protocol digital goniometer (GemRed, Guilin, China). Strength was measured using a hand-held dynamometer (Mark-10 Series 3, Copiague, NY) during internal and external rotation of the dominant shoulder. A 2x2 (shoulder movement x group) mixed-model ANOVA was used to compare ROM and strength between athlete groups and shoulder movement. RESULTS: Non-overhead athletes produced 69.5 (9.8) and 81.1 (8.6) degrees, and overhead athletes produced 70.0 (7.0) and 78.8 (7.9) degrees of internal and external rotation, respectively. Non-overhead athletes produced 10.4 (2.0) and 8.9 (1.5) kgf, and overhead athletes produced 12.3 (2.4) and 10.7 (2.1) kgf of force in internal and external rotation, respectively. Non-overhead athletes produced 16.3 (4.1) and 14.1 (3.2) %BM, and overhead athletes produced 18.2 (4.1) and 15.6 (3.3) %BM of normalized force in internal and external rotation, respectively. No interaction was found between group and shoulder movement for ROM, strength, or normalized strength (p>0.05). No significant difference in ROM between OH and NO athletes (p = 0.747). OH athletes produced significantly more force than NO athletes (p = 0.035), but this difference was non-significant when comparing forces normalized to body mass (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The ROM between OH and NO behaved similarly for IR and ER in the shoulder. This finding might suggest that similar training routines would be appropriate for each group.

Recommended Citation

Romo, Claire and McLean, Scott (2025) "Range of Motion & Strength in the Shoulder of Female Athletes," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 17, Article 134.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/134