Shoulder Strength and Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test Performance in Division III Collegiate Baseball and Softball Players.
David T Schilling, Ashraf M Elazzazi
PMID 34123536WHAT IT FOUND
DIII baseball players showed greater shoulder rotation strength than softball players, while their upper-extremity stability test scores were similar.
Baseball strength did not match test performance, so do not use one measure to infer the other.
Key findings
01Baseball players had significantly greater internal and external rotator strength than softball players in both throwing and non-throwing arms.
02Baseball players were stronger in the throwing shoulder than the non-throwing shoulder, but the internal-to-external strength ratio was not different between shoulders.
03The CKCUEST was not related to shoulder strength in baseball players, and only CKCUEST power differed between baseball and softball players.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
All participants were healthy, uninjured Division III players from one school, so these values may not apply to injured athletes or other competition levels. The softball group was smaller, and only 4 softball pitchers were available, so position comparisons for softball were not possible. Testing was done before the season, so shoulder strength and test performance may change during the season. Different handheld dynamometer testing methods can make comparisons with other studies difficult. The negative correlation between CKCUEST power and strength in softball players may be spurious because body weight is used in both measures.
Declared interests
The paper does not report funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use the CKCUEST to estimate rotator cuff strength. Baseball players showed no relationship between shoulder strength and CKCUEST, and the negative relationship seen in softball players may be spurious.