Força e desempenho funcional de ombro em atletas de vôlei e handebol

Abstract

The pitcher's shoulder performs repetitive, high-speed movements that may predispose to sportspecific neuromuscular adaptations. Although the characteristics of the gesture in athletes who perform above-the-head movement seem similar, there are differences that may determine dominant shoulder adaptations in both the muscles involved in the throwing gesture and the functional performance of the upper limb. The aim of the study was to compare shoulder rotator and abductor strength and upper limb functional performance in volleyball and handball female athletes. The evaluation was performed in 99 female athletes, handball (n = 61) and volleyball (n = 38), ages 13 to 25 years old. Shoulder abductor and rotator strength and functional performance were evaluated from two closed kinetic chain tests to assess dynamic shoulder stability and one open kinetic chain test, which assesses bilateral shoulder strength and power. The handball athletes presented higher medial rotator strength and better performance in the medial direction and total YBT-UQ score. Our results may be related to the different demands required in the gesture of playing of these sports. This study intends to guide new researches that evaluate the specificities of sports with movement above the head and enable evaluations closer to the reality found in clinical practice.