Scapulothoracic kinematics during tennis forehand drive
Résumé
Scapular dyskinesis is recognized as an abnormality in the kinetic chain; yet, there has been little research quantifying scapular motion during sport tasks. Tennis forehand drives of eight highly skilled tennis players were studied to assess the scapulothoracic kinematics and evaluate repeatability using video-based motion analysis. Scapulothoracic downward/upward rotation, posterior/anterior tilt, and internal/external rotation were computed using an acromial marker cluster. On average, the upward rotation, anterior tilt, and internal rotation varied from 18 to 268, from 78 to 328, and from 428 to 1008, respectively, during the tennis forehand drive. During the backswing and forward swing phases of the forehand stroke, small changes were observed for the three scapular angle values, while all angles increased rapidly during the follow-through phase. This suggests that the tennis forehand drive may contribute to scapula dyskinesis, mainly due to the great amplitude in scapulothoracic anterior tilt and internal rotation observed during the follow-through phase. Knowledge of normal scapula motion during sport tasks performed at high velocity could improve the understanding of various sport-specific adaptations and pathologies.