Comparison of the Effects of Static-Stretching and Tubing Exercises on Acute Shoulder Range of Motion in Collegiate Baseball Players

BACKGROUND: The overhead throwing motion repetitively stresses the dominant arm in baseball players, frequently altering normal range of motion (ROM) in multiple directions. Baseball players regularly perform a combination of static stretches (SS) and dynamic tubing (DT) resistance exercises in pre-throwing warm-up routines intended to improve shoulder ROM and reduce injuries. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare acute changes in dominant shoulder ROM improvements between SS and DT warm-up exercise protocols. The DT exercises were hypothesized to elicit greater improvements in shoulder ROM. STUDY DESIGN: Two-way crossover study. METHODS: Twenty-five healthy collegiate baseball players (mean age = 19.8 ±1.0 years) presenting with glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) >20° and total rotational range of motion (TRROM) losses >5° completed the SS and DT interventions on different days. Dominant arm internal rotation (IR), external rotation (ER) and TRROM were measured before, immediately after, 30-minutes after, and 60-minutes after each treatment session. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) compared the effect of SS and DT over time on IR, ER and TRROM. RESULTS: IR improved on average 10.68 ± 0.82° (p < .001) post intervention, 11.18 ± 0.79° (p < .001) 30-min post intervention, and 9.03 ± 0.95° (p < .001) 60-min post intervention. ER improved on average 8.60 ± 0.67° (p < .001) post intervention, 8.25 ± 0.85° (p < .001) 30-min post intervention, and 6.65 ± 0.91° (p < .001) 60-min post intervention. TRROM improved on average 19.28 ± 1.09° (p < .001) post intervention, 19.43 ± 1.36° (p < .001) 30-min post intervention, and 15.68 ± 1.55° (p < .001) 60-min post intervention. There were no significant differences between the main effects of treatment and time for IR, ER, and TRROM. For IR, SS improved by an average of 1.73 ± 0.55° (p = .005) more than DT. For ER and TRROM, there were no differences between SS and DT. CONCLUSION: Both SS and DT exercises improve glenohumeral IR, ER and TRROM up to one-hour post intervention, with no significant differences noted between interventions for treatment or time. Baseball players can benefit equally from performing SS or DT exercises to acutely improve shoulder ROM. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3