Shoulder Stretch

Victoria Taylor
Health and Physical Education

What is the Shoulder Stretch?

The shoulder stretch is a simple test of upper arm and shoulder girdle flexibility intended to parallel the strength/endurance assessment of that region.  If used alternately with the back-saver sit and reach, it may be useful in educating students that flexibility is specific to each joint and that hamstring flexibility neither represents a total body flexibility nor is the only part of the body where flexibility is important.

What does the Shoulder Stretch assess? 
This stretch assess a persons flexibility in their upper arm and shoulder girdle.

Why are we testing shoulder flexibility? 

Flexibility can be defined as the amount of movement of a joint through its normal plane of motion.  Shoulder flexibility is important for many different sporting activities such as baseball, golf, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, volleyball, soccer etc.  Another reason we are testing shoulder flexibility is to prevent injury.

When will the assessment take place?

Our class assessment will take place on Monday October 18, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. in room 225 D'Angola Hall at Kean University.

Preparation for the shoulder stretch:

1. Arm/shoulder stretch

2. Arm/side stretch

Test Description
Students will warm up by completing arm circles to loosen up their muscles. Students will do both forward and backward arm circles; beginning with small arm circles and moving on to big arm circles. Students will perform 10 of each, slowly and under control. After students have completed the arm circles, they will perform two stretches. Once all of the warm ups and stretches are completed students will attempt the shoulder stretch fitness test.

Students will select a partner. The partner judges ability to complete the stretch. To test the right shoulder, partner A reaches with the right hand over the right shoulder and down the back as I to pull up a zipper or scratch between the shoulder blades. At the same time partner A places the left hand behind the back and reaches up, trying to touch the fingers of the right hand. Partner B observes whether the fingers touch. Partner A then attempts the test with the left shoulder by reaching the left hand over the left shoulder and reaching up with the right hand.

Scoring
If the student is able to touch his or her fingers with the left hand over the shoulder, a “Y” is recorded for the left side; if not, an “N” is recorded. If the student is able to touch the fingers with the right hand over the shoulder, a “Y” is recorded for the right side; otherwise an “N” is recorded. Students who are not able to touch the fingers to their hand will have their partner measure the distance between their fingers in cm and record their results.

To achieve the Healthy Fitness Zone, a “Y” must be recorded on both the right and left side.

Evaluation Criterion
Students will fall into one of two categories: Healthy Fitness Zone or Needs Improvement. To achieve the Healthy Fitness Zone, a “Y” must be recorded on both the right and left side.

Test Validity
This is a valid test to evaluate shoulder girdle flexibility because it measures the range of motion of the upper arm / shoulder girdle region.

Reliability
This test controls for reliability by having the students perform warm up activities and stretches prior to participating in the test. Since students arm muscles are warmed up and loose, they should receive the same results over a short period of time. Practicing this test with the student’s overtime so they know how to properly perform the test will also control for reliability.

Results
As a whole, the majority of the class needs improvement in their shoulder girdle flexibility. Five out of 22 students (23%) met the Healthy Fitness Zone requirements. Comparatively, the females in the class have greater shoulder flexibility than the males in the class. One out of 14 males (7%) and 4 out of 8 females (50%) reached the Healthy Fitness Zone.

Based on the results of this test, the females in the class have greater shoulder flexibility than the males. This could be because the females tend to have less muscle mass around the shoulder joint than males, allowing for greater range of motion.

As a whole, the class seems to have slightly greater flexibility in their right shoulder than the left shoulder. This could be due to the fact that the majority of the class is right hand dominant. Other factors such as previous injury may also attribute to this.

	Mean		Range
	Left	Right	Left	Right
Overall (22)	3.68 in	2.57 in	0-12	0-10
Male (14)	5.4 in	3.8 in	0-12	0-10
Female (8)	.625 in	.31 in	0-2.5	0-2

Improvement Strategies
In Class: In class we will continue to focus on improving our shoulder flexibility by properly warming up our muscles and stretching our muscles. Throwing and catching activities will be used in a variety of sports and games in order to enhance range of motion. Students will be introduced to yoga poses that will help improve shoulder flexibility as well.

Out of Class: Students are encouraged to work on the activities and stretches both in class and out of class. To help improve shoulder flexibility, the following yoga poses are suggested for students to practice regularly: bridge pose, cobra pose and downward facing dog. These poses require open, flexible shoulders; therefore regular practice will improve ones shoulder flexibility over time. Also, participation in a variety of sports outside of class will help to improve shoulder flexibility. Sports such as swimming, tennis, lacrosse, racquetball, gymnastics or any sports that requires throwing or catching will help increase shoulder flexibility.