Palpation tests versus impingement tests in Neer stage I and II subacromial impingement syndrome.

PURPOSE: Using sonographic findings to test the diagnostic accuracy of impingement versus tendon palpation tests in Neer stage I and II subacromial impingement syndrome cases and examine their clinical potential. METHODS: Neer and Hawkins impingement tests and rotator cuff tendon palpation tests followed by bilateral shoulder sonography were conducted on 69 patients with a clinical diagnosis of unilateral subacromial impingement. RESULTS: The Neer and Hawkins tests had 74 and 62 % accuracy (sensitivity 80 and 67 %, and specificity 52 and 47 %, respectively) in comparison to 79 and 62 % accuracy rates for supraspinatus and biceps tendon palpation tests (sensitivity 92 and 41 %, and specificity 41 and 48 %, respectively). Overall, the palpation tests scored better than impingement tests in the diagnosis of Neer stage I and II subacromial impingement syndrome. No tendinosis or tear was noted in patients with negative findings in the supraspinatus palpation tests (sensitivity 100 %, specificity 21 %). CONCLUSION: Palpation tests for supraspinatus and biceps tendons have a slightly higher accuracy than the impingement tests, and if tenderness does not exist then supraspinatus tendinopathy can be ruled out. These findings warrant the use of palpation tests in a routine physical examination for tendinopathy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.

The effects of jump-rope training on shoulder isokinetic strength in adolescent volleyball players.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of a 12-wk weighted-jump-rope training program on shoulder strength. DESIGN: Pretest to posttest experimental design. SETTING: University sports physiotherapy laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: 24 healthy volleyball players age 13-16 y. INTERVENTION: Group 1 took weighted-rope training (n = 9), group 2 took unweighted-rope training (n = 8), and group 3 did not train with any specific program (n = 7). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Players' strength determined with an isokinetic dynamometer (Isomed 2000) at 180 and 60 degrees on external and internal rotators, supraspinatus peak torque, and total work of the dominant shoulder. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to determine the difference among the groups. RESULTS: At pretraining evaluation, there were no significant differences in the test scores of the isokinetic test of full can and empty can between the groups at 60 and 180 degrees. There was no statistically significant difference for 60 and 180 degrees between pretraining and posttraining assessment (P > .05) except that total eccentric work increased in groups 1 and 3 but decreased in group 2 at 180 degrees during the full can (P < .05). There was no significant difference among the groups between the pretraining and posttraining testing at both 180 and 60 degrees for the empty can (P > .05). Internal-rotation values at 60 and 180 degrees decreased for both peak torque and total work for all groups. External-rotation peak torque and total work at 60 degrees increased for group 1. External-rotation peak torque and total work at 180 degrees increased for all groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that a jump-rope training program is a good conditioning method for overhead athletes because of its potential benefits to shoulder strength.

The effect on neuromuscular stability, performance, multi-joint coordination and proprioception of barefoot, taping or preventative bracing.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the effects of taping and preventive bracing on functional balance, jumping performance, multi-joint coordination and proprioception on comparison to barefoot and each other. DESIGN: Controlled trial as an experiment with the independent variable testing in 3 trials: control (barefooted), preventive bracing, and taping. SETTING: The sports physiotherapy research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty physically active male university students aged between 20 and 28 who had been free from lower extremity pathology for 12 months and had no previous history of ankle sprain served as participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Single leg balance (s), jumping performance (cm), coordination and proprioception assessments by the Functional Squat System. The software automatically calculated the absolute average error (cm) and the standard deviation (SD) of the average error. Average errors were independently quantified as a function of the action mode (concentric versus eccentric) and of the lower limb (dominant versus non-dominant). RESULTS: There was no significant difference among the groups for balance tests (p>0.05). For vertical jump performance of bilateral and the dominant leg there were significant differences that the barefoot group had better results compared to the other groups (p=0.059; 0.017). According to the coordination results of Functional Squat System participants were better in brace and tape situations since the deviations were less for all concentric and eccentric positions. Deviation results for the proprioception test were different for first visual and non-visual deviations for dominant leg (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, bracing and taping may play an important role in preventing injury or rehabilitation of the injured ankle by improving concentric and eccentric coordination, proprioception with the ability of reproducing motion in closed kinetic chain while decreasing vertical jump performance. No superiority of brace over tape or vice versa was found in this study.

Rehabilitation and shoulder function after suprascapular nerve entrapment operation in a volleyball player.

The purpose of this report was to determine a detailed description of a rehabilitation programme of a volleyball player who had a decompression surgery for suprascapular nerve entrapment and to expose the long-term functional outcomes which lead to successful results.