Glenohumeral Translation in the Asymptomatic Athlete's Shoulder and Its Relationship to Other Clinically Measurable Anthropometric Variables

Abstract

To determine the degree of shoulder translation in uninjured athletes, we examined 76 Division I colle giate athletes (44 women and 32 men) for passive range of motion in both shoulders and for knee and elbow hyperextension. Translation was based on a scale of 0 to 3+. Shoulders with symptoms of pain or a history of instability or dislocation were excluded from this study. Forty-six shoulders had 0 anterior transla tion, 75 had 1+, and 31 had 2+. Thirteen shoulders had 0 posterior translation, 56 had 1 +, and 83 had 2+. Thirty-eight shoulders had 0 inferior translation, 105 had 1 +, and 9 had 2+. No shoulder had translation of 3+ in any direction. Twenty-four athletes, 12 men and 12 women, had translational asymmetry of a minimum of one grade in at least one direction. No shoulder was asymmetric in all three directions. There was a signif icant correlation between dominant hand and in creased translation; 19 of 24 athletes with asymmetric shoulders had greater translation in the nondominant extremity. There was no relationship between transla tion and range of motion, knee or elbow hyperexten sion, thumb-to-forearm distance, or years spent in sports participation. Asymmetry of shoulder translation may exist in the normal shoulder. This review shows that up to 2+ translation in any direction cannot be considered abnormal.