Shoulder pain in wheelchair basketball athletes: A scoping review

Wheelchair basketball athletes have increased upper limb stress, which frequently leads to shoulder pain.

The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize the existing literature on shoulder pain in wheelchair basketball athletes.

We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and PEDro databases for studies performed between January 1990 and February 2021. Two independent reviewers screened the studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants' characteristics and results were extracted from the study.

The initial database search yielded 2455 articles, 11 of which met the inclusion criteria. This review included seven studies in its final analysis; among them, seven determined the prevalence and incidence of shoulder pain, five investigated the factors and mechanisms contributing to shoulder pain, and two reported the treatment and preventive measures. The prevalence of shoulder pain in wheelchair basketball players ranged from 38%-75%, and the incidence of shoulder pain was 14%. Factors/mechanisms included overuse, decreased trunk control, and driving posture. Treatment/preventive measures consisted of shoulder and scapular muscle strengthening and stretching exercises. However, the literature on treatment/prevention was scarce, and its effectiveness was unclear.

This scoping review confirmed the high prevalence of shoulder pain in wheelchair basketball players; despite this, studies regarding treatment or preventive measures remain lacking. Further studies investigating the mechanism of onset of shoulder pain and the effectiveness of therapeutic and preventive measures are needed in the future.