Comparison of Upper Extremity Proprioception among Team Athletes

Shoulder strength flexibility and proprioception are of great importance for athletes who do overhead activities and throwing sports. In volleyball, basketball, and handball, the shoulder muscles work under heavy conditions under the technical load of the game. In this study, it was aimed to compare the shoulder force senses (FS) of team athletes. A total of 36 healthy individuals, including 14 volleyball, 12 basketball, and 10 handball players, with a mean age of 19.0 ± 2.6833, participated in the study. First, the maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MVIC) levels of the participants were measured during shoulder joint flexion, then the 50% MVIC target force value was determined, and a two-trial FS test was performed with this value. The target force value was evaluated by visual feedback from the computer screen. In the data analysis, independent t-tests and ANOVA tests were applied in the SPSS 28.0 for Mac package program. When the results of the research were examined, no statistical significance was found between the measurements of Trial1 and Trial2 in terms of gender. However, when the FS averages are examined, it has been determined that women have a better sense of force than men. It was determined that the median of the MVIC values was 70.35 and the participants were divided into two groups as lower and upper. A statistically significant difference was found between the determined MVIC groups and age, training age, gender, branch, and BMI. No statistically significant difference was found between the MVIC groups and the distance of the sense to the target. The difference in values can be explained by the fact that individuals with low MVIC have a better sense of force than individuals with high MVIC.