The Effects of a Rehabilitation Program for Ice Hockey Players with Shoulder Injury

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation training, using elastic bands and a body blade, for ice hockey players with confirmed diagnosis of shoulder joint instability. [Methods] The subjects of this study were healthy adult ice hockey players without shoulder instability (control group, n=9) and adult ice hockey players with shoulder instability (training group, n=9). We implemented a rehabilitation training program using elastic bands and a body blade for eight weeks, and measured the isokinetic muscle functions of the shoulder joint in terms of flexion, extension, internal rotation and external rotation, as well as the subjective pain score at baseline (Week 0) and Weeks 4 and 8. [Results] There were interactions in flexion and internal rotation at 60°/sec, flexion and extension at 180°/sec, and subjective pain score. [Conclusion] We consider that the rehabilitation program given in this study had a positive effect on stabilization of the shoulder joint of ice hockey players, and various further studies should address shoulder joint rehabilitation for ice hockey players.