Shoulder injuries are one of the major injured joints in highly competitive athletes. This injury site is somewhat sports specific, with power lifters, football players, volleyball players, swimmers and baseball players being the primary athletes of impact. The term ‘shoulder injury’ is a bit vague, but can encompass anything from a separation to a tear that might require surgery. In a study on American Football players with shoulder injuries, the most common was an AC separation injury, with about 41% of the participants in the study being affected by this injury. The shoulder is the 4th most prevalent injury site for football players, but in the article it describes the need to examine these injuries and take them seriously even though they are at a lower prevalence than some other injuries. While there is a lot of research being done about these injuries in different athletes, one of the greatest challenges is finding interventions. Because shoulder injuries can be so sports specific, one intervention might not correlate to another sport’s type of shoulder injury. One study done on competitive swimmers used an 8 week posture correction exercise program that showed positive results for posture and shoulder pain. In another study, mechanisms of shoulder impingement are analysed and used to create a rehabilitation program that uses strength training as well as pain prevention techniques to ease the effects of impingement. Integration of these two interventions seems like the most optimal solution. Other effort, such as starting this shoulder rehabilitation process in young athletes and maintaining it throughout the athlete’s career, is also important for injury prevention.
