Glenohumeral Translation in the Asymptomatic Athlete's Shoulder and Its Relationship to Other Clinically Measurable Anthropometric Variables

To determine the degree of shoulder translation in uninjured athletes, we examined 76 Division I collegiate athletes (44 women and 32 men) for passive range of motion in both shoulders and for knee and elbow hyperextension. Translation was based on a scale of 0 to 3+. Shoulders with symptoms of pain or a history of instability or dislocation were excluded from this study. Forty-six shoulders had 0 anterior translation, 75 had 1+, and 31 had 2+. Thirteen shoulders had 0 posterior translation, 56 had 1+, and 83 had 2+. Thirty-eight shoulders had 0 inferior translation, 105 had 1+, and 9 had 2+. No shoulder had translation of 3+ in any direction. Twenty-four athletes, 12 men and 12 women, had translational asymmetry of a minimum of one grade in at least one direction. No shoulder was asymmetric in all three directions. There was a significant correlation between dominant hand and increased translation; 19 of 24 athletes with asymmetric shoulders had greater translation in the nondominant extremity. There was no relationship between translation and range of motion, knee or elbow hyperextension, thumb-to-forearm distance, or years spent in sports participation. Asymmetry of shoulder translation may exist in the normal shoulder. This review shows that up to 2+ translation in any direction cannot be considered abnormal.