Lateral Epicondylitis, Prevention
Conditions
Keywords
padel, lateral epicondylitis, shoulder strength, grip strength, rotator cuff, resistance training
Brief summary
Background: The physical demands of padel can increase the risk of injuries, particularly lateral epicondylitis in the elbow. Key risk factors include deficits in forearm muscle strength and rotator cuff weakness. Prevention programs focus on forearm strengthening, with no studies on rotator cuff strength. This study aims to compare two exercise programs designed to reduce risk factors for lateral epicondylitis in amateur padel athletes, specifically wrist extensor strength, grip strength, and rotator cuff strength.
Detailed description
A sample of 45 amateur padel athletes was allocated to a conventional exercise group (n = 15), a rotator cuff exercise group (n = 15), or a control group (n = 15). The first two groups performed two strengthening exercises, one common to both groups (wrist extension) and one group-specific exercise (forearm supination-pronation or the Y exercise). The control group did not perform any intervention. Participants were assessed at baseline (T0) and post-intervention (T1). Muscle strength was measured using the ActivForce 2 hand-held dynamometer. Outcome measures included wrist extensor strength, grip strength, shoulder internal rotation strength, shoulder external rotation strength, shoulder abduction strength, and the isometric external-to-internal rotation ratio (ER:IR).
Interventions
OTHERStrenght exercises
Both exercise groups participated in two independent sessions per week for a du-ration of 8 weeks. Each session consisted of two strength exercises, with participants completing 3 sets of 10 repetitions of two strength exercises with 1-2 minutes of rest between sets
Sponsors
School of Allied Health Sciences of Porto (ESTSP) - Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP)
Instituto Politécnico de Leiria
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Aged 18 years or older * Practicing padel at least once per week * Willing and able to provide informed consent * Agreed to participate in the study
Exclusion criteria
\* History of an upper-limb injury within the previous six months
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Peak Force | From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks | maximum force across the multiple repetitions of the test - for wrist extension, grip strength, and rotator cuff strength (shoulder internal rotation (IR), shoulder ex-ternal rotation (ER), and shoulder abduction (ABD)), assessed using the ActivForce2 digital dynamometer. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ER:IR Isometric Ratio | From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks | calculated based on the results of the shoulder internal and external rotation PF tests |
Countries
Portugal
Outcome results
None listed