Fatigue-resistance of the internal rotator muscles in the tennis player’s shoulder: Isokinetic and electromyographic analysis

Roland Julienne (1) , Antoine Gauthier (1) , Damien Davenne (1)

1 COMETE - Cognition, Mobilités, Temporalité

Objective: The main objective is to determine whether there are differences in the relative isokinetic and electromyographic responses between the internal rotator (IR) muscles on the dominant and non-dominant sides of tennis players during performance of an isokinetic fatigue protocol. Main outcome measures: Ten male tennis players were recruited for this isokinetic and electromyographic study. Participants performed 35 concentric maximal voluntary actions, carrying out internal rotations of both shoulders at an angular velocity of 120 s À1. Maximal torque (T (45) Max), torque decrease (T (45)), Root Mean Square normalised (RMSnorm) and Neuromuscular Efficiency (NME) parameters were analysed. Results: Although an increased T (45) Max was observed on the dominant side compared to the non-dominant side, the progression of torque differences did not indicate differences in fatigue-resistance between the two sides. RMSnorm was also higher on the dominant side compared to the non-dominant side, without showing a fatigue effect. NME values decreased during performance of the fatigue protocol without any side effect. Conclusions: Practicing tennis induces an increased T (45) Max on the dominant side compared to the non-dominant side, but does not appear to provoke differences in the fatigue-resistance of IR muscles. EMG analysis showed that the fatigue induced was mainly peripheral (from metabolic and ionic changes).

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Tissues and Organs [q-bio.TO]

Roland Julienne, Antoine Gauthier, Damien Davenne. Fatigue-resistance of the internal rotator muscles in the tennis player’s shoulder: Isokinetic and electromyographic analysis. Physical Therapy in Sport, 2012, 13 (1), pp.22-26. ⟨10.1016/j.ptsp.2011.02.003⟩. ⟨hal-02135233⟩