Preseason muscle strength tests in the assessment of shoulder injury risk in collegiate rugby union players

抄録

This study was conducted to provide a muscle strength cutoff value for the assessment of shoulder injury risk in collegiate rugby union players. This prospective cohort study included 28 rugby union players. During the preseason period, five muscle strength tests were performed around both shoulder joints: one repetition maximum (1RM) bench press, 1RM shoulder press, internal rotational (IR), external rotational (ER) isometric muscle strength, and abductor (ABD) isometric muscle strength. Following the preseason tests, the occurrence of time-loss shoulder injury was recorded during the 2011–2012 season. The cutoff values for muscle strength test were determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Seven players sustained shoulder injuries during the season. The respective cutoff values for the preseason tests were as follows: 1RM bench press = 1.20 kg/body mass (area under the curve [AUC], 0.67; Sensitivity, 71.4%; Specificity, 61.9%), 1RM shoulder press = 0.70 kg/body mass (AUC, 0.69; Sensitivity, 51.7%; Specificity, 81.0%), IR = 2.80 N/ body mass (AUC, 0.64; Sensitivity, 92.9%; Specificity, 35.7%), ER = 2.60 N/body mass (AUC, 0.62; Sensitivity, 85.7%; Specificity, 38.1%), and ABD = 1.60 N/body mass (AUC, 0.69; Sensitivity, 85.7%; Specificity, 52.4%). Findings suggest that these cutoff values may be useful for preseason assessment of shoulder injury risk in collegiate rugby union players.