Adaptations and biomechanical aspects of the swimming practice at the shoulder complex in children and adolescents

Abstract

Swimming is one of the most popular sports in the world and requires great demand especially with respect to the shoulder complex. The literature shows an increase in the incidence of injuries in the shoulder complex in children who practice sports, however there are still few studies that analyze the biomechanical aspects and adaptations of the shoulder complex in swimmers children. The main objective of the study will be to compare scapular kinematics and scapulothoracic muscle activation among children and adolescents swimmers and non swimmers. The secondary objectives will be to evaluate the latissimus dorsi muscle stiffness, the pressure pain threshold and the humeral torsion angle. The participants in this study will be children and adolescents between 8 and 15 years, of both genders, divided into 3 groups: 30 competitive swimmers, 30 amateurs swimmers and 30 non practitioners (of any sports involing the upper limb). Participants will be submited to a 3-D scapular kinematics evaluation through an electromagnetic tracking device and will also have the muscle activity of scapulothoracic muscles (upper trapezius, lower trapezius and serratus anterior) recorded during the elevation of the arm in the scapular plane. They will also undergo to an evaluation of the latissimus dorsi stiffness, the pressure pain threshold of the shoulder muscles and a measure of the humeral torsion angle. Statistical analysis will depend on the normality or abnormality of the data evaluated by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, with significance level set at 5%.