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Medicina dello Sport 2020 March;73(1):117-26

DOI: 10.23736/S0025-7826.20.03632-7

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

The stability of scapular and core muscles in adolescent tennis players

Bi-Fon CHANG ✉

Department of Physical Education, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung, Taiwan

BACKGROUND: The tennis stroke requires core strength and flexibility and stability of the shoulder. The aim of this paper was to determine differences in scapular stability and core stability of elite and experienced level adolescent tennis players.
METHODS: Twenty-three tennis players were divided into elite and experienced groups on the basis of their national ranking by the Taiwan Tennis Association. The researcher used the United States Tennis Association High Performance Profile (USTA HPP) scapular stabilization test to measure the distance between the upper and lower scapula to determine the degree of symmetry. The USTA HPP core stabilization test determines the strength of the core muscles on dominant and non-dominant sides.
RESULTS: The average distance from the superior angle of both dominant and non-dominant arms to the spine was significantly smaller in the elite than the experienced group (P<0.05). The average inferior angle difference of the dominant and non-dominant arms to the spine was greater in the elite group (P<0.05). Core stabilization was similar on the dominant side for both groups. However, the elite group was more unbalanced on the nondominant side (P<0.05). Furthermore, there were differences between the dominant and non-dominant sides of the elite group in the distance from the superior angle to the spine and in the core stabilization test but not in the experienced group.
CONCLUSIONS: There was a lack of symmetry in scapular measurement and core strength between elite and experienced players. The impact of that asymmetry on future injuries remains unknown.

KEY WORDS: Scapula; Tennis; Adolescent