Scapular dyskinesis was not associated with pain and function in male adolescent athletes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Scapular dyskinesis has been associated to shoulder injuries and pain. However, this relationship with adolescent athletes is not well established. The objective of this study was to evaluate scapular dyskinesis in young athletes and its association with pain or shoulder function. METHODS: 178 male adolescent athletes (14.58±2.16 years) were evaluated. The subjects completed the Quick Disability Arm Shoulder Hand questionnaire. Body mass, height, shoulder internal rotation and Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability test were measured. A dynamic visual method was applied to assess dyskinesis. Binary logistic regression was applied to analyze the association between dyskinesis and other variables. The comparison between groups with and without dyskinesis was made by the Mann-Whitney and t-test, accepting a statistical significance of p<0.05. RESULTS: The dyskinesis prevalence was 56.7% and this condition was not associated with shoulder pain. Younger athletes are 159% more likely to have dyskinesis, while those who practice more than one hour a day for three times a week are 77% more likely to have the same outcome. No difference in shoulder function was found. CONCLUSION: Scapular dyskinesis is not associated with pain and does not affect shoulder function in adolescent athletes. Sports modality, age and training volume seem to induce changes in scapula movement.