Baseline Functional Testing in Competitive Youth Swimmers.
Matthew Naftilan, Steven D Ciliotta, Nicole Duggan and 7 others
PMID 41185657WHAT IT FOUND
Youth swimmers show wide variation in upper extremity functional test scores by sex and age.
Limb symmetry indices were similar across groups, suggesting they may be a more useful comparison metric than raw repetition counts for this population.
Key findings
01Significant differences were found between sex and age groups for both prone ball drop tests, but not for the CKCUEST.
02Limb symmetry indices were not significantly different between any groups.
03There were no significant differences in test scores between participants with a history of prior shoulder injury and those without.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (53 participants), limiting the power to detect differences in subgroup analyses, particularly regarding prior injury. Testing used standard equipment (1 kg ball, 36-inch CKCUEST distance) regardless of participant size, which may disadvantage smaller or younger athletes. Skeletal maturity was not assessed, so chronological age was used as a proxy for physical development. The study was conducted at a single swimming club, which may limit generalizability to other competitive youth populations. No follow-up was conducted to determine if these baseline scores predicted future injury.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial affiliations or involvement with commercial organizations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these tests can identify athletes at risk of future shoulder injury or detect deficits from prior injury. The study found no significant differences in scores between swimmers with and without a history of shoulder pain or injury requiring care.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →