Acta Univ. Palacki. Olomuc., Gymn. 2005 35(1): 53-60

Shoulder bandage with distal traction - application to athletes overusing "overhead" activities

Luboš Hrazdira¹, Jarmila Skotáková², Zdeněk Florian³

¹ St. Ann Teaching Hospital, Dept. of Orthopaedics, Brno

² Children's Radiology Clinic, Teaching Hospital Bohunice, Brno

³ Technical University, Faculty of Body Mechanics, Brno

Sportsmen with overhead activities very frequently have an increased mobility of the shoulder joints. Thus it is often difficult to distinguish between stability, hyperlaxity, and instability of the joint. Repeated extreme movements strain static stabilizers and lead to their lengthening. The principal problem in sporters is to establish a balance between the mobility and stability of the shoulder joint. Clinical examinations and the following treatment should be focused not only on pain but also on the stability of the glenohumeral joint. We can encounter a whole range of possibilities from glenohumeral instability to the impingement syndrome. We often find a narrowing of the subacromial space in so-called tennis shoulder (rotation of the scapula and relative abduction of the humerus). A helpful therapeutic solution of this problem should be provided by a bandage of our own new construction. The shoulder bandage consists of an upper arm sleeve and an elastic strap leading across the axilla and fixed around the chest. If the upper extremity is free in adduction, there is no tension to the sleeve but in the moment of abduction, the elastic strap is gradually stretched and the sleeve pulls the proximal humerus down. Greater elevation and greater tension can be modified by the tightening or lengthening of the elastic strap. On the one hand the bandage causes broadening of the subacromial space, on the other hand muscle activity is modified and a higher muscle tonus increasingly stabilizes the joint. This paper describes the effect of the bandage from different points of view - orthopedic, biomechanical, and imaging. A group of 25 patients is evaluated. The feeling of an increased stability of the shoulder is described by 16 sporters and minimizing of pain by using the bandage is reported by 13 sporters. Constraining of locomotion in the edge position is claimed by 18 persons and decreasing of performance resulting from a slowed up lifting of the arm is declared by 16 persons. 9 sporters use the bandage regularly, 8 use it only in case of problems, 6 persons stopped using it after remission of acute complaints, 2 persons claim no effect of the bandage. The shoulder bandage increases glenohumeral stability, minimizes the risk of injuring the rotator cuff, reduces the risk of impingement syndrome, alleviates or even eliminates the pain in elevation and in extreme positions of the upper arm. It enables sporters to continue sports activities without the risk of worsening a pathological condition.

Keywords: Overhead activities, painful shoulder, bandage with distal traction

Prepublished online: February 23, 2009; Published: March 1, 2005  Show citation