Sonographic evaluations in elite college baseball athletes.
This study compared the thickness of the biceps and supraspinatus tendons, the widths of the subacromial space in the frontal and scapular planes, and abnormal sonographic findings in the shoulders of injured, and uninjured elite college baseball athletes and healthy controls. This study recruited two groups of 42 and 12 athletes, with and without histories of shoulder injuries, respectively, as well as one control group of 16 college students who were matched for physical characteristics but not involved in sports. The results showed that the thickness of the biceps and supraspinatus tendons and the subacromial space widths at 0 degrees and 90 degrees shoulder abduction in the frontal plane were significantly greater in the athletes than in the controls (P-values <0.004). The occurrences of the acromioclavicular joint bulging, bicep tendon degeneration, infraspinatus tendon degeneration and infraspinatus cortical irregularity differ significantly between the injured athlete and the group of uninjured athletes and controls (P-values <0.05). However, only infraspinatus tendon degeneration corresponded to the injury histories. There was a high similarity of sonographic spectrum of abnormal findings among the groups. Longitudinal follow-ups are required to determine the clinical importance of the sonographic spectrums and the occurrences of abnormal finding in asymptomatic athletes' shoulders.
Wang
Hsing-Kuo
HK
Graduate Institute and School of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, ROC.
Lin
Jau-Jia
JJ
Pan
Shin-Liang
SL
Wang
Tyng-Guey
TG
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001484:Baseball / Q000293:injuries; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013710:Tendons / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography