Ultrasonographic evaluation of the shoulder in elite wheelchair tennis players.
BACKGROUND
Wheelchair tennis has been identified as a high-risk sport for shoulder injury, so understanding shoulder pathology in these athletes is important.


OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the incidence and pattern of shoulder injuries in wheelchair tennis players using high-resolution ultrasonography.


METHODS
Descriptive study.


METHODS
International Wheelchair Tennis Open.


METHODS
33 elite-level wheelchair tennis players.


METHODS
Wheelchair tennis players completed a self-administered questionnaire, and shoulders of each athlete were investigated using high-resolution ultrasonography (linear probe 7.5 MHz).


RESULTS
The most common pathology in the dominant shoulder was acromioclavicular pathology, in 21 players (63.6%). Full-thickness rotator-cuff tears involving the supraspinatus were found in 8 dominant shoulders and 6 nondominant shoulders. There were no correlations between identified shoulder pathology and the different variables studied, such as age, training time per day, length of wheelchair use, and length of career as a wheelchair tennis player.


CONCLUSIONS
High prevalence of rotator-cuff and acromioclavicular pathology was found by ultrasonographic examination in the elite wheelchair tennis players in both dominant and nondominant shoulders. A high index of suspicion of these pathologies in wheelchair athletes is required.
Jeon
In-Ho
IH
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
Kochhar
Hemanshu
H
Lee
Jong-Min
JM
Kyung
Hee-Soo
HS
Min
Woo-Kie
WK
Cho
Hwan-Sung
HS
Wee
Ho-Wug
HW
Shin
Dong-Joo
DJ
Kim
Poong-Taek
PT
D000173:Acromioclavicular Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013715:Tennis / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology*; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014910:Wheelchairs