ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2023
Professional tennis players suffer high prevalence of shoulder alterations during the season: a possible tennis shoulder syndrome.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rehabilitation Incorporating a Stroke Efficiency Analysis in a Male Tennis Player with Scapular Dyskinesis: A Case Report.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2026Article
- Scapular Dyskinesis, Glenohumeral Internal Rotation, and Pectoralis Minor Length in Male Elite Tennis Players.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2026Article
- Shoulder range of motion and strength in beach tennis athletes compared to volleyball and tennis players: implications for injury risk and performance.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Scapula dyskinesis in medium-sized full-thickness rotator cuff tear after subacromial Lidocaine infiltration and rotator cuff reconstruction.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Assessing Active and Passive Glenohumeral Rotational Deficits in Professional Tennis Players: Use of Normative Values at 90° and 45° of Abduction to Make Decisions in Injury-Prevention Programs.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Shoulder range of motion in competitive tennis players: systematic review and meta-analysis.JSES international · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo analyze the shoulder alterations of professional tennis players during the competition season and to compare the differences between their dominant vs. non-dominant shoulders, as well as gender and age differences.
methodsTwo-hundred and seventy shoulders of (78 men and 57 women) professional active tennis players were assessed during 3 ATP and WTA tournaments. MAIN VARIABLES STUDIED: long head of biceps (LHB) tenderness and synovitis; glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD), total range of motion (TRM), external rotation (ER) and scapular dyskinesis (DK). Secondary variables: shoulder dominance, gender, age, training hours, ranking, type of backhand. LHB tenderness and synovitis were assessed by clinical and ultrasound examination, TRM with goniometer and DK by dynamic observation.
resultsLHB tenderness of the dominant shoulder was present in 35% of all players, being more prevalent in women (47.4%) than men (26.9%) p = 0.023. LHB synovitis of the dominant shoulder was present in 20.2% of all players without difference between genders (n.s). High prevalence of GIRD was found in both dominant (87.4%) and non-dominant (56.3%) shoulders, being more prevalent in the dominant shoulder p = 0.00005. TRM was decreased in both dominant (144.5° ± 20.2°) and non-dominant shoulders (161.2° ± 18.9°) p = 0.00005. ER was normal in dominant (93.8° + /9.3°) and non-dominant shoulders (93.4° + /8.4°) (n.s). DK was present in 57.7% of dominant and 45.9% of non-dominant shoulders (n.s). The combination of LHB alterations, GIRD and DK in the dominant shoulder was present in 13.3% of the participants. There were no significant differences between younger (< 22 years) vs older players (≥ 22 years).
conclusionProfessional tennis players actively playing suffer a high prevalence of LHB inflammation, GIRD, scapular dyskinesis and decreased TRM in their dominant and non-dominant shoulders. The LHB is a significant cause for anterior shoulder pain in this population. Women suffer more LHB tenderness than men. Young players are as affected as older players. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.
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