Elite Swimmers With Unilateral Shoulder Pain Demonstrate Altered Pattern of Cervical Muscles Activation During a Functional Upper Limb Task

Amparo Hidalgo-Lozano, Carmen Calderón-Soto, Antonio Domingo-Camara, César Fernández-de-las-Peñas, Pascal Madeleine, Manuel Arroyo-Morales

DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2012.3875

STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences in the level of activation of neck-shoulder muscles between elite swimmers with and without shoulder pain during a functional upper limb task. BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported altered motor control of the neck-shoulder muscles in patients with chronic neck-shoulder pain. Whether the activation of neck-shoulder muscles is altered among elite swimmers suffering from shoulder pain is unknown. METHODS: Surface electromyography (SEMG) from the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), upper trapezius (UT), and anterior scalene (SCL) muscles was recorded bilaterally in 17 elite swimmers (9 men, 8 women; mean ± SD age: 21±3 years) with unilateral shoulder pain, and 17 age- and sex matched elite swimmers without pain. Root mean square (RMS) values were calculated and normalized to assess the level of muscular activation 5 seconds before, 120 seconds and 150 seconds into, and 10 seconds after a functional upper limb task. RESULTS: The repeated measures revealed significant differences between both groups for RMS of both SCL (F=3.733; P=0.016), but not for the SCM and UT muscles. Swimmers with shoulder pain had higher normalised RMS in both SCL muscles at 120s (78% on average) and 150s (86% on average) into and 10s post-task (40% on average) as compared with swimmers without shoulder pain (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The elite swimmers with shoulder pain demonstrated greater activation of the SCL muscles during a functional task and a lower ability to relax the SCL muscles after completion of the task than elite swimmers without shoulder pain. The present findings suggest altered pattern of cervical muscle activation on elite swimmers with shoulder pain during performance of a functional task.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 25 January 2012. doi:10.2519/jospt.2012.3875

KEY WORDS: electromyography, neck, scalene

The authors investigate the differences in the level of activation of neck-shoulder muscles between elite swimmers with and without shoulder pain during a functional upper limb task.

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