Impact of Sprinting and Dribbling on Shoulder Joint and Pushrim Kinetics in Wheelchair Basketball Athletes

BACKGROUND: While wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular Paralympic sports, it eventually causes shoulder problems and pain in many athletes. However, shoulder kinetics has never been assessed during propulsion in wheelchair basketball. This study analyzes the impact of sprinting and dribbling on pushrim and shoulder kinetics in terms of external forces and net muscular moments. METHODS: A group of 10 experienced wheelchair basketball athletes with various classifications performed four, 9-m sprints on a basketball court using classic synchronous propulsion, and four sprints while dribbling forward. Pushrim and shoulder kinetics were calculated by inverse dynamics, using a motion capture device and instrumented wheels. FINDINGS: Sprinting was associated to peak shoulder load from 13 to 346% higher than in previous studies on standard wheelchair propulsion in most force/moment components. Compared to sprinting without a ball, dribbling reduced the speed, the peak external forces in the anterior and medial direction at the shoulder, and the peak net shoulder moment of internal rotation. INTERPRETATION: The high shoulder load calculated during both sprinting and dribbling should be considered during training sessions to avoid overloading the shoulder. Dribbling generally reduced the shoulder load, which suggests that propelling while dribbling does not put the shoulder at more risk of musculoskeletal disorders than sprinting.