Shoulder Internal and External Rotation Strength Assessment in Baseball Pitchers: Normative Data and Reliability
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Journal Article
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National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Abstract
Rotator cuff strength assessments are valuable for monitoring throwing athlete injury and performance status. Portable technology enables "in-field" assessment and, therefore, increases utility. The purpose of this study was to quantify the reliability of strain gauge technology for measuring shoulder rotator strength and provide normative strength values for high school and college pitchers. Subjects (n = 15) participated in 3 testing sessions consisting of 5 maximal isometric shoulder internal rotation (IR) and 5 external rotation trials separated by 7 days. Variables of interest included peak force (Fmax), peak torque (Tmax), rate of force development, and rate of torque development. Coefficients of variation ranged from 4.3 to 5.8% for peak values and 16.0-28.5% for rate measures. Intraclass correlation coefficient estimates ranged from 0.79 to 0.89 for peak values, and 0.80-0.91 for rate measures, with IR typically marginally better than ER. Although practitioners need to be mindful of managing error (e.g., through familiarity), peak measures of rotator cuff strength assessed using portable strain gauge are promising for simple field-based monitoring of shoulder health for throwing athletes.Description
Keywords
peak force, rate of force development, strain gauge, throwing athlete, upper-body force output, 4201 Allied Health and Rehabilitation Science, 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 3202 Clinical Sciences, 42 Health Sciences, Clinical Research, Physical Injury - Accidents and Adverse Effects, 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 1116 Medical Physiology, Sport Sciences, 3208 Medical physiology, 4207 Sports science and exercise
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J Strength Cond Res, ISSN: 1064-8011 (Print); 1533-4287 (Online), 39(5), e634-e638. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005072
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This is the Author's Accepted Manuscript version of an article published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research © 2025 National Strength and Conditioning Association, and available at DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005072