The isokinetic torque curve of shoulder instability in high school baseball pitchers

Athletes with shoulder problems are commonly referred to orthopaedic and sports physical therapists for rehabilitation. Many of these problems include some form of shoulder instability. The purpose of this study was to generate an isokinetic torque curve that is representative of the shoulder impingement syndrome that may affect high school baseball pitchers. A sample of 241 subjects, each diagnosed with an impingement syndrome in the right shoulder, was tested using a Cybex II+ dynamometer configured to duplicate the orthopaedic loose-packed and plane of the scapula positions of the shoulder complex. The subjects were tested concentrically across five maximal repetitions of internal and external rotation at the speeds of 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 degree/sec; graphic records were collected at 60 degrees/sec. Descriptively, testing revealed a distinct isokinetic torque curve for the impingement syndrome compared with the noninvolved shoulder. This information might serve as a useful complement to traditional clinical procedures for the diagnosis of the shoulder impingement syndrome.