Validation of a New Clinical Test: Functional Assessment of System Tension in Overhead Athletes

Overhead athletes require coordination, control, and mobility of the entire body. This is most evident during the early and late cocking phase of throwing, where the shoulder is in maximal horizontal abduction and external rotation, the trunk is rotated contralaterally, and the ipsilateral hip is extended. Adopting this position allows athletes to optimize myofascial tension allowing more efficient transition from potential to kinetic energy. A staple in rehab for overhead athletes includes high level exercises that incorporate interconnected muscle chains, but interestingly the viscoelastic nature of the muscle chains do not enter into the static assessment process. There is a need to develop a more holistic clinical test for shoulder ROM which reflects the complexity and three-dimensional nature of throwing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of a new clinical test of shoulder ROM (FAST-OA) and to establish normative values in overhead athletes.