The Reliability and Validity of a Novel Clinical Test for Assessing Shoulder Rotation ROM in Collegiate Baseball Players: Functional Assessment of System Tension of the Shoulder (FAST-SHDR).
Steven Dischiavi, Jesse Perry, Connor Burk and 2 others
PMID 39628776WHAT IT FOUND
A new sport-specific shoulder test showed good reliability in baseball players.
It measured much less rotation than standard supine tests, especially in the throwing arm. This suggests standard tests miss how trunk tension limits shoulder motion during throwing.
Key findings
01The new sport-specific test demonstrated good to excellent reliability for measuring shoulder rotation.
02Shoulder rotation measured by the new test was consistently lower than standard supine testing, with total arc differences of about 74 degrees in the dominant shoulder.
03The new test successfully differentiated between baseball players and non-athletes, supporting its validity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study only checked if one examiner got similar results twice (intra-rater reliability). It did not check if different examiners would get the same results (inter-rater reliability). The test position is passive and may not fully replicate the active, dynamic forces of an actual throw. There was no pre-calculated sample size, and the number of participants was small. The test requires two people to perform efficiently in its current form, as the measuring device cannot be locked in place.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this test is ready for general clinical use or that it predicts injury. The study only showed one examiner could get consistent results; it did not prove that other therapists would get the same numbers, nor did it link these specific measurements to actual injury outcomes.