Are there bilateral isokinetic shoulder rotator differences in basketball male players?

The internal (IR) and external (ER) rotator shoulder strength are often assess in the upper limb sports to prevent a risk of injuries. The purpose of this comparative study was to measure the agonist/antagonist balance of shoulder strength and to determine whether significant differences exist between the dominant and nondominant sides in basketball players compared to a control groups.

During the championship, 23 elite male-basketball players (BB) and 23 healthy males (CG) were tested bilaterally on a Cybex Norm isokinetic dynamometer in a seated position with 45° shoulder abduction in the scapular plane at 60°.s-1 and 180°.s-1 in concentric (CON) and 60°.s-1 in eccentric (ECC) modes.

No significant differences were found for normalized values to body weight (N.m/kg-1) between the both groups and ER/IR, ECC/CON and functional deceleration ratios were similar. BB have a bilateral difference with higher ER of the dominant side comparatively to the opposite (P<0.05).

Unlike other sports that increase the performance of IR dominant side, the basketball player isokinetic profile could indicate a strengthening in the external rotators of the dominant side. This bilateral difference could be explained by the repetition of the specific movements in the ball control but this was not large enough for the ER/IR ratios to be significantly different with CG. The ratios analysis does not report an imbalance associated with a high risk of shoulder injuries.