Effect of a specific exercise strategy on strength and proprioception in volleyball players with infraspinatus muscle atrophy

Abstract

Infraspinatus muscle atrophy is common in professional volleyball players, but it is unclear whether commonly observed strength and proprioception deficits can be reversed with training. Fifty-four participants were recruited into an infraspinatus atrophy group (IAG, n = 18) and a non-atrophy group (NAG, n = 18) of elite volleyballers plus a healthy non-athletic control group (CG, n = 18). IAG were trained with a progressive, specific shoulder external rotator strengthening routine for 32 sessions over 8 weeks. Shoulder external rotation peak torque (SERPT) and threshold to detect passive movement (TTDPM) and joint position sense (JPS) were measured before and after the intervention. At baseline, no significant difference was detected in strength or proprioception between the injured and control groups, but the normal athletes were stronger and had better proprioception than either IAG or CG (P < .001). IAG (d = 2.78) and NAG (d = 0.442) improved strength significantly after training. IAG improved TTDM and JPS (P < .001, d = -0.719 and -2.942, respectively) but were still worse than NAG (P < .001). Elite volleyball players with Infraspinatus muscle atrophy have strength and proprioception deficits which can be improved by a specific exercise program to normal but not elite athlete control levels.

Can a Conservative Rehabilitation Strategy Improve Shoulder Proprioception? A Systematic Review

“…Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), [16][17][18][19]25,41,42 were evaluated using the Dutch Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for RCTs 43,44 (Table 3). Case-control studies 12,14,26,45,46 were assessed by combining elements from the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale 47 and the Dutch Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for casecontrol studies, 43,44 to ensure an extensive risk of bias assessment. Case-control studies were evaluated on 7 items, as follows: 1 (experimental group), 2 (control group), 3 and 4 (selection criteria), 5 (blinding), 6 (confounding variables), and 7 (classification ruling) (Table 4).…”

“…Of the 12 included studies, 7 were RCTs [16][17][18][19]25,41,42 and 5 were case-control studies. 12,14,26,45,46 The systematically extracted data of each article are presented in Appendix.…”

“…No studies were identified regarding the sense of velocity or sense of force. Eleven studies 12,[16][17][18][19]25,26,41,42,45,46 investigated the effects of the intervention on the pathological shoulder only, whereas Naughton et al 14 trained and assessed both shoulders (1 healthy and 1 affected by an anterior dislocation). The duration of the training periods varied between a single session 12,19,25,45 and 4 to 12 weeks of therapy.…”

“…20,21 Moreover, shoulder proprioception deficits have been shown among specific populations, such as overhead athletes. [22][23][24][25][26] Proprioceptive deficits of the shoulder have also been linked to the presence of pain and injury to localized tissues, such as the joint capsule, ligaments, and the labrum and pericapsular muscles. 10,13,15 It is therefore understandable that proprioceptive deficits are affiliated with recurring physical limitations and disability.…”

Physical Activity Reduces the Prevalence of Periodontal Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Regular physical activity boosts several physical capacities in general aspects of human health (Garber et al, 2011; Warburton and Bredin, 2017). Physical activity has been related to cognitive improvement (Fernandes et al, 2018b), increased proprioception (Salles et al, 2018) and total lung capacity (McNamara et al, 2018), maintenance of cardiovascular physiology (de Souza et al, 2018), fat reduction (de Souza et al, 2018), and other systemic diseases. The interaction between physical activity and systemic diseases, mainly inflammatory disorders, is still not clearly understood; however, the modulation of immune markers figures as the main potential mechanism involved (Gleeson et al, 2011).…”