Abstract
The purpose of this study was to document range-of-motion differences and radiographic changes in the dominant shoulder of skeletally immature throwers and to determine how pain associated with throwing may relate to these changes. Seventy-nine male youth baseball players (aged 8-15 years) completed a questionnaire, a shoulder examination, and a series of radiographs to determine physeal changes and humeral retroversion. Radiographs were reviewed and interpreted by a blinded musculoskeletal radiologist. Measurement of proximal humeral physeal width revealed a significant increase on the dominant side for the entire group, in subjects with a history of symptoms during the current season, and in subjects who had never had symptoms. Visual radiographic changes were commonly found in subjects with a history of pain (16/26 [62%]) as well as in those subjects without symptoms (29/53 [55%]). Subjects had increased external rotation of the dominant arm as compared with the nondominant arm, and this pattern increased in magnitude as the throwers aged. Range-of-motion and radiographic asymmetry of the shoulders is common, is often asymptomatic, and may represent adaptive changes in this population.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 487-491 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2004 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding for this study was provided by an internal University of Kentucky Medical Center grant.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine