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An Electromyographic Analysis of the Shoulder During a Medicine Ball Rehabilitation Program

The Shoulder Service, New York Orthopaedic Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York

Ira N. Wolfe

The Shoulder Service, New York Orthopaedic Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

Mary E. Wootten, MS

Helen Hayes Hospital, Gait Laboratory, West Haverstraw, New York

Louis U. Bigliani, MD

The Shoulder Service, New York Orthopaedic Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

We used dynamic electromyography and a motion analysis system to describe the muscle firing patterns in 10 shoulder muscles and the basic kinematics of a two-handed overhead medicine ball throw. Ten healthy male subjects with no history of shoulder injury were evaluated. The two-handed medicine ball throw was divided into three phases for analysis: cocking, accel eration, and deceleration. The average duration of the throw was 1.92 seconds; the cocking phase repre sented 56%, the acceleration phase 15.5%, and the deceleration phase 28.5% of the throw. In the cocking phase, the upper trapezius, pectoralis major, and an terior deltoid muscles showed high activity (>40% to 60% maximum manual test), and the rotator cuff mus cles had moderate activity (>20% to 40%). In the acceleration phase, five of the muscles demonstrated high levels of activity (>40% to 60%) and the upper trapezius and lower subscapularis muscles had very high levels of activity (>60%). Analysis of the deceler ation phase revealed high activity in the upper trape zius muscle and moderate activity in all other muscles except the pectoralis major. Our findings support the use of medicine ball training as a bridge between static resistive training and dynamic throwing in the rehabil itation of the overhead athlete. This training technique provides a protective method of strengthening that closely simulates portions of the throwing motion.