HUMERAL RETROVERSION IN OVERHEAD THROWING ATHLETES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the dominant shoulder humeral retroversion of handball and volleyball players and a control group to understand if throwers show the same behaviour concerning humeral torsion. The dominant shoulder of 33 subjects (11 volleyball players, 11 handball players and 11 non-athletes) was submitted to a shoulder semiaxial radiograph in order to identify the humeral retroversion angle. Handball players showed significantly (p=0.03) less humeral retroversion than volleyball players which could be related with less external rotation range-of-motion found on previous studies. Volleyball players presented more retroversion angle, so more external rotation, allowing the correct alignment of the articular surfaces and glenohumeral stability, being able to have a cocking phase with more amplitude achieving maximal performance.