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Is suprascapular neuropathy common in high-performance beach volleyball players? A retrospective analysis

Ist eine Läsion des N. suprascapularis ein häufig auftretendes Problem bei Beach-VolleyballspielerInnen? Eine retrospektive Datenauswertung

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Summary

Background

Pain in the shoulder is a common problem in overhead sports and at times goes along with atrophy of the supra- and infraspinatus muscles. A neuropathy of the suprascapular nerve is one possible reason. The aim of the study was to examine the suprascapular nerve in Austrian high-performance beach volleyball players.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 18 high-performance beach volleyball players were included. An electrophysiological examination was performed consecutively. Nerve conduction studies of the suprascapular nerve were performed bilaterally. Needle electromyography was done for the infraspinatus muscle of the dominant arm. Additionally, pain and muscle atrophy were evaluated.

Results

No acute or chronic neurogenic changes in the infraspinatus muscle were seen in any player, although atrophy of the suprascapularis innervated muscles was present in five players.

Conclusions

A lesion of the suprascapular nerve could not be shown in any of the players. Therefore, a biomechanical cause has to be considered for the clinical symptoms in the present study population.

Zusammenfassung

Grundlagen

Schulterbeschwerden treten häufig bei Überkopfsportlern auf und gehen oftmals mit einer Atrophie des M. supra- und infraspinatus einher. Eine mögliche Ursache für diese Beschwerden stellt eine Neuropathie des N. suprascapularis dar. Ziel dieser Studie war die Untersuchung des N. suprascapularis bei Österreichischen Elite-Beach-Volleyballspielern.

Methodik

In diese Beobachtungsstudie wurden 18 Elite-Beach-Volleyballspieler eingeschlossen. Eine elektrophysiologische Untersuchung erfolgte konsekutiv. Eine Nervenleitgeschwindigkeitsmessung vom N. suprascapularis wurde beidseits mittels Oberflächenelektroden durchgeführt. Weiters erfolgte eine Untersuchung des M. infraspinatus vom dominanten Arm mittels Nadelelektromyographie. Zusätzlich wurde Schmerz und Muskelatrophie erhoben.

Ergebnisse

Es konnten keine akuten oder chronischen Veränderungen im M. infraspinatus gefunden werden, obwohl sich bei 5 Spielern eine Atrophie der vom N. suprascapularis innervierten Muskulatur zeigte.

Schlussfolgerungen

Es konnte keine Läsion des N. suprascapularis gefunden werden. Die Beschwerden in unserer Studienpopulation könnten durch biomechanische Gründe ausgelöst worden sein.

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Compliance with ethical guidelines

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.

Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical University of Vienna, General Hospital Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18–20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Karin Pieber MD, Malvina Herceg MD, Wolfgang Gruther MD & Tatjana Paternostro-Sluga MD

  2. Department for Traumatology, Medical University of Vienna, General Hospital Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Christian Fialka MD & Gerhard Oberleitner MD

Authors
  1. Karin Pieber MD
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  2. Malvina Herceg MD
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  3. Christian Fialka MD
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  4. Gerhard Oberleitner MD
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  5. Wolfgang Gruther MD
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  6. Tatjana Paternostro-Sluga MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karin Pieber MD.

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Pieber, K., Herceg, M., Fialka, C. et al. Is suprascapular neuropathy common in high-performance beach volleyball players? A retrospective analysis. Wien Klin Wochenschr 126, 655–658 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-014-0595-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-014-0595-4

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