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GIRD may not indicate upper extremity injury in young baseball players
Glenohumeral internal rotation deficit larger than 15° may not be linked to shoulder and elbow injuries in young baseball players, according to results of a recently published study.
“While there was an increase in [glenohumeral internal rotation] GIRD from youth league to high school participants, [total range of motion] TROM and retrotorsion-adjusted GIRD remained constant across the age groups, indicating that this increase between the age groups is not pathological GIRD and may not contribute to an increased injury risk,” Elizabeth E. Hibberd, MA, ATC, and colleagues, wrote in the study.
Researchers analyzed 287 healthy baseball players who were broken down into four groups: 52 youth (6 years to 10 years), 52 junior high school (11 years to 13 years), 70 junior varsity (14 years to 15 years), and 113 varsity (16 years to 18 years) players. Internal rotation range of motion (IRROM), external rotation range of motion and humeral retrotorsion were measured bilaterally while retrotorsion-adjusted IRROM was compiled as the available IRROM from the humeral retrotorsion position. Glenohumeral internal rotation deficit, differences in humeral retrotorsion between limbs, adjusted GIRD and differences in TROM between limbs were compiled as the difference between dominant and nondominant sides.
The researchers found differences between the groups in GIRD and humeral retrotorsion. Varsity players showed the greater GIRD compared with youth and junior high school players, and GIRD was greater for junior varsity players compared with junior high school and youth participants. Difference in humeral retrotorsion between limbs was greater for varsity players vs. youth and junior high school participants and for junior varsity players when compared with the youth participants. There were no differences in adjusted GIRD or TROM.
Disclosure: The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (grant R03AR055262).