Crossbody stretch versus sleeper stretch to increase internal rotation among overhead athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of the crossbody stretch and sleeper stretch to increase internal range of motion among overhead athletes. This research attempted to test the internal range of motion in overhead athletes by comparing two stretches: crossbody and sleeper stretch. Each participant performed a five-minute warm-up followed by 4 sets of 30 second holds for each stretch. The control group only attended their normal practices with no additional stretching routines. A three-group randomized pretest and posttest design was used. Each participant was tested at the olecranon process, lying with their back on a table using a goniometer. The dominant and non-dominant shoulders were assessed. An ANOVA was used to determine if differences between these three groups were present. The ANOVA showed no significant difference between the crossbody stretch and sleeper stretch but did show a difference from the control group and stretching groups. This indicated that the crossbody stretch and sleeper stretch both improved internal rotation range of motion. While it was expected for the stretches to improve their internal range of motion, it was unclear as to which stretch would help improve the most. The control group showed no significant difference, while the crossbody stretch and sleeper stretch groups showed a significant difference. According to the data, both stretches improved internal rotation range of motion, but did not have a significant difference between the two stretches. The control group stayed the same, as expected, while the stretching groups improved significantly from their initial pretest. In conclusion, both the crossbody stretch and sleeper stretch increased internal range of motion among overhead athletes but the control group, which did not participate in the two stretching routines did not improve significantly.