The Self-Assessment Corner for Shoulder Strength: Reliability, Validity, and Correlations With Upper Extremity...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Athletic Training

Background:

• Rotator cuff weakness and imbalances are risk factors for shoulder injuries in overhead athletes.
• Consensus statements emphasize the need for portable and feasible screening examinations for at-risk athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Self-Assessment Corner (SAC) for self-assessing isometric shoulder rotational strength.
• To examine the correlation between physical performance tests (SMBT and CKCUEST) and isometric shoulder rotational strength measured by the SAC in handball players.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sports setting.
• Two samples were used: 42 participants for reliability/validity and 34 handball players for correlation analysis.
• Isometric rotational strength was measured using the SAC, compared to manual testing, and correlated with SMBT and CKCUEST performance.

Main Results:

• The SAC demonstrated good to excellent reliability (ICC range: 0.89–0.92) with low standard error of measurement (3.45–3.48 N) and minimal detectable change (8.06–8.13 N).
• Strong correlations were found among different strength-testing procedures (r = 0.824, rs range: 0.754–0.816).
• Moderate to strong correlations were observed between the CKCUEST and rotational strength (r range: 0.570–0.767), and moderate correlations between SMBT and rotational strength (r range: 0.573–0.626).

Conclusions:

• The Self-Assessment Corner (SAC) provides a clinically applicable and standardized method for self-assessing rotational strength in healthy young adults.
• Performance on the seated medicine ball throw (SMBT) and closed kinetic chain upper extremity stability test (CKCUEST) can serve as valuable screening tools for assessing shoulder strength.