Prevalence of shoulder pain amongst Malaysia men's wheelchair basketball players: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: The shoulder is at high risk of injury, particularly in throwing activities such as basketball. ]Aims: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and patterns of shoulder pain amongst Malaysian men's wheelchair basketball (WCBB) players. Furthermore, factors that are associated with shoulder pain were investigated. Materials and Methods: Eleven national WCBB players participated in this study. All players completed the clinical research forms which collected socio-demographic information, WCBB participation and history of shoulder pain. Assessments of shoulders range of motion, isometric muscle strengths and clinical shoulder tests were performed on all players. Results: The prevalence of shoulder pain amongst Malaysian WCBB players was 36.4%. Players with current shoulder pain had significantly higher Performance Corrected Wheelchair User's Shoulder Pain Index (PC-WUSPI) scores (13.8 vs. 3.3, P = 0.02) and a greater number of positive shoulder clinical tests (3.5 vs. 1.0, P = 0.04) than players without pain. Players with shoulder pain are frequently diagnosed with rotator cuff injuries, particularly involving the supraspinatus and subscapularis muscles. A significant moderately strong positive correlation between PC-WUSPI score and number of positive clinical shoulder tests was found (r = 0.71; P = 0.01). Conclusions: Prevalence and patterns of shoulder pain amongst Malaysian men's WCBB players are comparable to previous studies. A strong association between PC-WUSPI score and number of positive clinical shoulder tests suggests a potential role of regular PC-WUSPI assessment for early detection of shoulder problems amongst players.