OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the humeral head retroversion of handball players and its relationship to shoulder's range of motion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventeen professional players were evaluated by physical examination and X-ray images to determine the humeral head retroversion and its relationship to the range of motion. A control group was also submitted to the same evaluations. RESULTS: The difference between the average of the humeral head retroversion of the dominant and non dominant shoulders was 3.06°. The mean value for this angle between the athletes who had started training as early as 10 years old was 36.29°, compared to those who had started later in life, which was 26.6° (p<0.05). The average of the external rotation of the players whose retroversion angle was bigger than 30° was 112.27°, and for those whose angle was smaller or equal to 30°, it was 95.10° (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a significant difference in the retroversion angle when comparing dominant and non-dominant shoulders. The athletes who started to play before the age of 10 presented, statistically, an increased retroversion. There is a statistical relationship between retroversion increase and shoulder's external rotation gain.
Shoulder; Radiography; Anatomy
