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The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports

CONTEXT: Several investigations have noted that throwing athletes exhibit a more posteriorly oriented humeral head (humeral retrotorsion) in the dominant arm. This asymmetry is believed to represent an adaptive response to the stress of throwing that occurs during childhood. The significance of this...

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Autores principales: Greenberg, Elliot M., Fernandez-Fernandez, Alicia, Lawrence, J. Todd R., McClure, Philip
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4622383/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26502441
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1941738115608830
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author Greenberg, Elliot M.
Fernandez-Fernandez, Alicia
Lawrence, J. Todd R.
McClure, Philip
author_facet Greenberg, Elliot M.
Fernandez-Fernandez, Alicia
Lawrence, J. Todd R.
McClure, Philip
author_sort Greenberg, Elliot M.
collection PubMed
description CONTEXT: Several investigations have noted that throwing athletes exhibit a more posteriorly oriented humeral head (humeral retrotorsion) in the dominant arm. This asymmetry is believed to represent an adaptive response to the stress of throwing that occurs during childhood. The significance of this alteration and factors that affect its development are currently not clear. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Basic science, research studies, and review articles were searched through PubMed with search terms including humeral torsion, humeral retrotorsion, and with 1 of the following: pediatric, adult, baseball, pitching, shoulder, and range of motion. The references from each article were reviewed for further inclusion. This review included articles through March 2015. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4. RESULTS: The throwing motion creates stressors that result in bony adaptations that occur while skeletally immature. These osseous changes likely contribute to the observed shift in the arc of rotational range of motion noted in throwing athletes and may play a protective role against injury. However, too much or too little retrotorsion may predispose the shoulder to injury. The degree of “optimal” humeral retrotorsion and factors that influence its development are not fully understood. CONCLUSION: Evidence supports the assertion that the throwing motion creates stressors that alter bony anatomy while young. It is important to determine what specific factors affect this adaptation and its relationship to injury.
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spelling pubmed-46223832016-11-01 The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports Greenberg, Elliot M. Fernandez-Fernandez, Alicia Lawrence, J. Todd R. McClure, Philip Sports Health Focus Topic: Overhead Athlete CONTEXT: Several investigations have noted that throwing athletes exhibit a more posteriorly oriented humeral head (humeral retrotorsion) in the dominant arm. This asymmetry is believed to represent an adaptive response to the stress of throwing that occurs during childhood. The significance of this alteration and factors that affect its development are currently not clear. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Basic science, research studies, and review articles were searched through PubMed with search terms including humeral torsion, humeral retrotorsion, and with 1 of the following: pediatric, adult, baseball, pitching, shoulder, and range of motion. The references from each article were reviewed for further inclusion. This review included articles through March 2015. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4. RESULTS: The throwing motion creates stressors that result in bony adaptations that occur while skeletally immature. These osseous changes likely contribute to the observed shift in the arc of rotational range of motion noted in throwing athletes and may play a protective role against injury. However, too much or too little retrotorsion may predispose the shoulder to injury. The degree of “optimal” humeral retrotorsion and factors that influence its development are not fully understood. CONCLUSION: Evidence supports the assertion that the throwing motion creates stressors that alter bony anatomy while young. It is important to determine what specific factors affect this adaptation and its relationship to injury. SAGE Publications 2015-11 /pmc/articles/PMC4622383/ /pubmed/26502441 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1941738115608830 Text en © 2015 The Author(s)
spellingShingle Focus Topic: Overhead Athlete
Greenberg, Elliot M.
Fernandez-Fernandez, Alicia
Lawrence, J. Todd R.
McClure, Philip
The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports
title The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports
title_full The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports
title_fullStr The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports
title_full_unstemmed The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports
title_short The Development of Humeral Retrotorsion and Its Relationship to Throwing Sports
title_sort development of humeral retrotorsion and its relationship to throwing sports
topic Focus Topic: Overhead Athlete
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4622383/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26502441
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1941738115608830
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