Immediate effect of MET of shoulder horizontal abductors and active sleeper stretch on glenohumeral internal rotation deficit in Indian lawn tennis players

Introduction: Throughout the throwing motion, the glenohumeral joint (GHJ) achieves extraordinary movement speeds, forces and ranges of motion (ROMs). When the dominant arm is abducted 90°, the shoulder (GHJ) external rotation ROM is usually greater than the non-dominant arm's. Stretching, in any form, effectively increases the joint range of motion. Stretches that increase range of motion, whether active, passive, or muscle energy technique (MET), have been proven to help manage and prevent injuries related with glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD). The goal of this study was to see which protocol would be the most beneficial in terms of having an immediate effect on this condition, and if either of the stretches would produce a better result, then that could be utilised to treat athletes, the lawn tennis players in this study, to improve their posterior shoulder flexibility. Material and method: 30 tennis players of 16–30 years of age with GIRD were recruited for the study. The sample was taken from different lawn tennis courts in Delhi. A detailed assessment of GIRD was done. In order of recruitment for the study, each odd subject was given MET of shoulder horizontal abductors first and Active Sleeper Stretch after an interval of 24 h. The order was reversed for every even subject. Range of motion was compared with before and after the protocols readings. Result: The result of the study says that the active sleeper stretch increases the internal rotation (IR) range of motion in 30 subjects by an average of 4.8o ± 1.95 and MET of shoulder horizontal abductor by an average of 4.73o ± 2.18. Conclusion: There are limitations of both the techniques over each other. Active sleeper stretch cannot be done by impingement syndrome athletes and MET cannot be done alone. Therefore, either of them can be used according to the convenience of the athlete. © 2022 The Authors