Exploration of the Shoulder Internal Rotation’s Influence on Throwing Velocity in Handball Players: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to test the relationship between shoulder internal rotation strength and standing throwing velocity. A repeated measures cross-sectional study was conducted with 20 professional handball players (mean +/- SD; age: 19.28 +/- 2.55 years, weight: 81.52 +/- 9.66 kg, height: 185 +/- 6 cm, BMI: 23.74 +/- 1.69). The participants were instructed to perform eight standing throws from the 7 m line of the handball court at maximum velocity to calculate the mean and maximum throwing velocity. An incremental test was performed to calculate the repetition maximum (1-RM) of internal rotation shoulder strength. A Pearson's correlation analysis with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was performed to determine whether correlations existed between dominant arm internal rotation strength characteristics and maximum and mean ball-throwing velocity. There is no correlation between the internal rotation strength of the throwing shoulder and the velocity of the ball in the standing handball throw.