MUSCLE PERFORMANCE OF THE SHOULDER ROTATORS IN UNIVERSITY TENNIS PLAYERS

Abstract

Muscle imbalance has been identified as one of the cause for shoulder injuries among tennis players. The aim of this study was to investigate the isokinetic work ratios of eccentric antagonist to concentric agonist shoulder rotators during the service action among University team tennis players, and compare them between dominant and non-dominant arms. Tennis players with no previous history of shoulder problems were recruited from the University team (N=20). Isokinetic testing of the shoulder rotators were performed using the Cybex Norm TM isokinetic system. Results revealed no significant differences in work ratios between the dominant and non-dominant side during the acceleration or deceleration phase of the tennis serve. It was concluded that among asymptomatic tennis players a good balance existed between the internal and external rotators which can be quantified using work ratios.