Upper-Extremity Functional Performance Tests: Reference Values for Overhead Athletes.

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Overhead athletes require specific functional shoulder assessments.
• Lack of age, gender, and sport-specific normative data for key shoulder tests.
• Need for reliable screening tools to evaluate upper extremity function in athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create an age, gender, and sport-specific normative database for the Y Balance Test - Upper Quarter (YBT-UQ), Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test (CKCUEST), and Seated Medicine Ball Throw (SMBT).
• To analyze differences in test performance based on gender, age, and sport.
• To evaluate the correlations between the three functional shoulder tests.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 106 male and 100 female overhead athletes (18-50 years) from volleyball, tennis, and handball.
• Administered YBT-UQ, CKCUEST, and SMBT to all participants.
• Utilized linear mixed or regression models for statistical analysis of differences and Pearson correlation coefficients for relationships.

Main Results:

• Established normative values for YBT-UQ, CKCUEST, and SMBT, stratified by gender, age, and sport.
• Identified significant gender and age-related differences across all tests.
• Observed significant side and sport differences for YBT-UQ; moderate correlation between CKCUEST and SMBT/YBT-UQ; weak correlation between SMBT and YBT-UQ.

Conclusions:

• The study provides essential normative data for functional shoulder screening in overhead athletes.
• Performance benchmarks can now be established relative to peers in the same gender, age, and sport.
• A combination of YBT-UQ, CKCUEST, and SMBT is recommended for comprehensive functional assessment.