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Most athletic shoulder injuries are due to one
of two mechanisms:
1.Repetitive overhead activity (microtrauma)
 throwing
2.A significant force (macrotrauma) applied to
the shoulder complex.
Ligamentous structures of the shoulder girdle
Passive Mechanisms
 Bony
 Glenoid labrum
 Intraarticular
pressure
 Joint cohesion
 Glenohumeral capsule
 Glenohumeral
ligaments
Active Mechanisms
Joint compression
Dynamic ligament
Tension
Neuromuscular control
Scapulothoracic joint
Dynamic Stabilizers of the Shoulder : Neuromuscular
control
Primary Stabilizers
•Rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus,infraspinatus, teres
minor, subscapularis)
•Deltoid
•Long head of the biceps brachii
Secondary Stabilizers
•Teres major
•Latissimi dorsi
•Pectoralis major
The Static Stabilizers : Bony Geometry  glenohumeral
joint
Anatomic view of the glenoid cavity with its surrounding structures
Phase I: Acute Phase
Goals:
• Diminish pain and inflammation
• Normalize or improve motion and
flexibility
• Retard muscular atrophy
• Enhance dynamic stabilization
Phase II: Intermediate Phase
Goals:
• Improve muscular strength and
endurance
• Maintain or improve flexibility
• Promote concentric-eccentric
muscular training
• Maintain dynamic stabilization
Phase III: Advanced Phase
Goals:
• Initiate sport-specific training
• Enhance power and speed
(plyometrics)
• Maintain a rotator cuff
strengthening program
• Improve muscular endurance
Phase IV: Return-to-sport Phase
Goals:
• Gradually return to sports
activities
• Maintain gains in strength,
power, endurance, and
flexibility
 Impingement of the rotator cuff may occur in some
athletes  baseball players, quarterbacks, swimmers,
and others whose activities involve repetitive use of the
arm at or above 90° of shoulder abduction.
 Matsen  defined impingement as encroachment of the
acromion, coracoacromial ligament, coracoid process,
or acromioclavicular joint on the rotator cuff
mechanism, which passes beneath them as the
glenohumeral joint is moved  in flexion and IR.
 Impingement usually involves the supraspinatus tendon
• Rotator cuff impingement is a self-perpetuating
process.
• Matsen noted the following:
 muscle or cuff tendon weakness causes impingement
from loss of the humeral head stabilizing function,
which leads leading to tendon damage, disuse atrophy,
and additional cuff weakness;
 bursal thickening causes impingement as a result of
subacromial crowding, which produces greater
thickening of the bursa; and
 posterior capsular tightness can lead to impingement,
disuse, and stiffness because the tight capsule forces
the humeral head to rise up against the acromion.
 Numerous factors, both structural and
functional, contribute to impingement,
especially in young athletes.
 Additionally, if the capsule is especially lax and
if the dynamic stabilizers are not sufficient, the
humeral head may displace anterosuperiorly and
lead to complaints of impingement.
 The goal in treating athletes with impingement
syndrome, either nonoperatively or surgically, is
to reduce compression and friction between the
rotator cuff and subacromial space.
• Shape of the coracoacromial arch, which allows
passage of the adjacent rotator cuff mechanism
• Normal undersurface of the acromioclavicular
joint
• Normal bursa
• Normal function of the humeral head stabilizers
(rotator cuff)
• Normal capsular laxity
• Smooth upper surface of the rotator cuff
mechanism
• Normal function of the scapular stabilizers
 Acute impingement syndrome  time, rest
from noxious stimuli, nonsteroidal
antiinflammatory drugs, local modalities
(e.g., cold, heat, and electrical stimulation),
and a general shoulder rehabilitation
program of flexibility and a PRE program
• The supraspinatus helps stabilize
the head of the humerus against
upward pull of the deltoid.
A. Subacromial impingement is
prevented by normal cuff
function.
B. Deep surface tearing of the
supraspinatus weakens the
ability of the cuff to hold the
humeral head down, thereby
resulting in impingement of the
tendon against the acromion.
B
• Subacromial impingement  a chronic
inflammatory process produced by one of the
rotator cuff muscles and the subdeltoid bursa
"pinching" against the coracoacromial ligament
and/or anterior acromion when the arm is
raised above the head.
• The supraspinatus portion of the rotator cuff is
the most common area of impingement.
• This four-phase program can be used for
conservative management of impingement.
• The protocol is designed to attain maximal
function in minimal time.
 Posterior shoulder impingement.
 This occurs when the arm is abducted and externally
rotated; the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles
impinge (rub) on the posterosuperior rim of the glenoid
cavity, which leads to fraying of the cuff or labrum.
 Rehabilitation of shoulder injuries should
concentrate on developing dynamic joint stability.
 Athletes who are susceptible to pathologic
shoulder conditions should participate in an off-
season shoulder flexibility and rotator cuff
strengthening program to help prevent shoulder
problems, and they should continue this stretching
and strengthening program two or three times
weekly during the season.
 Preventive and postinjury exercises that
strengthen the rotator cuff muscles
should be performed to dynamically
stabilize the glenohumeral joint and the
scapular stabilizers that help orient the
glenoid fossa with the humeral head to
maintain stability.
 Weakness of the scapula stabilizers can
predispose the athlete to a variety of
pathologic shoulder conditions.
• After shoulder surgery or injury, emphasis should be
placed on addressing the inflammation process and
restoring motion.
• After initiation of a rotator cuff strengthening
program, PNF techniques may be implemented to
help restore neuromuscular control.
• In the late phases of rehabilitation, eccentric,
isokinetic, and plyometric exercises may be
initiated.
• In the advanced strengthening phase, the goals of
the program are to initiate sport-specific types of
training for the shoulder joint complex.
Thank You