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Purpose: This study was conducted to test the effects of conscious abdominal contraction on electromyographic activity of the periscapular muscles during two isometric exercises. Methods: Eighteen subjects participated in the study. Electromyographic signals of the upper, middle and lower trapezius, upper and lower portion of the anterior serratus, external and internal oblique were obtained during two variations of isometric exercises (bilateral and 3-point push-ups) with and without conscious contraction. Two-way ANOVA was used to detect differences during the exercises and conscious abdominal contraction. Relationships between the abdominal and periscapular muscles was checked by Pearson correlation. Key Results: Conscious abdominal contraction increased the activity of anterior serratus in both exercises. The trapezius muscle was not influenced by the exercises. All the analyzed muscles showed higher activity during the 3-point exercise without conscious abdominal contraction. The conscious abdominal contraction only provided an increase in trapezius activity during the bilateral exercise. Positive correlations were observed between activity of the external oblique muscle with upper and lower anterior serratus in both exercises. Conclusion: Conscious abdominal contraction is effective to increase serratus activity. Regarding the trapezius muscles, conscious abdominal contraction increase muscular activity when combined with the bilateral push-up exercise, but the activity with the 3-point exercise was not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sports that require the constant use of an upper limb demand the maximum kinetic chain efficiency in this segment. Immaturity of the musculoskeletal system, followed by failure in motor skills can expose adolescents to major reports of pain complaints, particularly for the shoulder. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of shoulder pain in adolescent athletes and identify possible factors associated with the complaint. Method: A total of 310 athletes, of both sexes and aged between 10 and 19 years old participated on this study. The subjects filled out a questionnaire with personal, sports and upper limb function (Quick-DASH) questions. We evaluated the height, body mass, shoulder rotation range and stability of the upper limb using the CKCUES-test. The association between pain and the variables was analyzed using multilevel modeling logistic regression. We used the Mann-Whitney test for comparing between pain and function. Results: The prevalence of shoulder pain was 43.5%. Athletes between 15and 19years, handball and judo practitioners, are 1.86, 2.14 and 3.07 more likely to report shoulder pain, respectively, when compared with other sports and ages. Shoulder pain reduced function scores (p <0.001) and increased changes in the range of motion (p <0.04). Conclusion: Shoulder pain is highly prevalent and is associated especially with older adolescent athletes of handball and judo, and affects the levels of function and the range of the shoulder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test (CKCUEST) has been proposed as an option to assess upper limb function and stability; however, there are few studies that support the use of this test in adolescents. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the intersession reliability and agreement of three CKCUEST scores in adolescents and establish clinimetric values for this test. Study Design: Test-retest reliability Methods: Twenty-five healthy adolescents of both sexes were evaluated. The subjects performed two CKCUEST with an interval of one week between the tests. An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC3,3) two-way mixed model with a 95% interval of confidence was utilized to determine intersession reliability. A Bland-Altman graph was plotted to analyze the agreement between assessments. The presence of systematic error was evaluated by a one-sample t test. The difference between the evaluation and reevaluation was observed using a paired-sample t test. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Standard error of measurements and minimum detectable changes were calculated. Results: The intersession reliability of the average touches score, normalized score, and power score were 0.68, 0.68 and 0.87, the standard error of measurement were 2.17, 1.35 and 6.49, and the minimal detectable change was 6.01, 3.74 and 17.98, respectively. The presence of systematic error (p < 0.014), the significant difference between the measurements (p < 0.05), and the analysis of the Bland-Altman graph infer that CKCUEST is a discordant test with moderate to excellent reliability when used with adolescents. Conclusion: The CKCUEST is a measurement with moderate to excellent reliability for adolescents. Level of Evidence: 2b [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sports that require the constant use of an upper limb demand the maximum kinetic chain efficiency in this segment. Immaturity of the musculoskeletal system, followed by failure in motor skills can expose adolescents to major reports of pain complaints, particularly for the shoulder., Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of shoulder pain in adolescent athletes and identify possible factors associated with the complaint., Method: A total of 310 athletes, of both sexes and aged between 10 and 19 years old participated on this study. The subjects filled out a questionnaire with personal, sports and upper limb function (Quick-DASH) questions. We evaluated the height, body mass, shoulder rotation range and stability of the upper limb using the CKCUES-test. The association between pain and the variables was analyzed using multilevel modeling logistic regression. We used the Mann-Whitney test for comparing between pain and function., Results: The prevalence of shoulder pain was 43.5%. Athletes between 15 and 19 years, handball and judo practitioners, are 1.86, 2.14 and 3.07 more likely to report shoulder pain, respectively, when compared with other sports and ages. Shoulder pain reduced function scores (p<0.001) and increased changes in the range of motion (p<0.04)., Conclusion: Shoulder pain is highly prevalent and is associated especially with older adolescent athletes of handball and judo, and affects the levels of function and the range of the shoulder., (Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)