Glenohumeral translation in the asymptomatic athlete's shoulder and its relationship to other clinically measurable anthropometric variables.
To determine the degree of shoulder translation in uninjured athletes, we examined 76 Division I collegiate athletes (44 women and 32 men) for passive range of motion in both shoulders and for knee and elbow hyperextension. Translation was based on a scale of 0 to 3+. Shoulders with symptoms of pain or a history of instability or dislocation were excluded from this study. Forty-six shoulders had 0 anterior translation, 75 had 1+, and 31 had 2+. Thirteen shoulders had 0 posterior translation, 56 had 1+, and 83 had 2+. Thirty-eight shoulders had 0 inferior translation, 105 had 1+, and 9 had 2+. No shoulder had translation of 3+ in any direction. Twenty-four athletes, 12 men and 12 women, had translational asymmetry of a minimum of one grade in at least one direction. No shoulder was asymmetric in all three directions. There was a significant correlation between dominant hand and increased translation; 19 of 24 athletes with asymmetric shoulders had greater translation in the nondominant extremity. There was no relationship between translation and range of motion, knee or elbow hyperextension, thumb-to-forearm distance, or years spent in sports participation. Asymmetry of shoulder translation may exist in the normal shoulder. This review shows that up to 2+ translation in any direction cannot be considered abnormal.
Lintner
S A
SA
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Levy
A
A
Kenter
K
K
Speer
K P
KP
D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*