Early Rate of Force Development and Maximal Strength at Different Positions of the Athletic Shoulder Test in Baseball Players

Ashworth, Ben and Hank, Mikulas and Khaiyat, Omid A. and Coyles, Ginny and Verbruggen, Ferdia Fallon and Zemkova, Erika and Zahalka, Frantisek and Maly, Tomas (2025) Early Rate of Force Development and Maximal Strength at Different Positions of the Athletic Shoulder Test in Baseball Players. Sports, 13 (9). ISSN 2075-4663

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Peak force (PF) reflects maximal strength, while early rate of force development (RFD; 0–100 ms) indicates explosive neuromuscular output. The Athletic Shoulder (ASH) test is gaining popularity in overhead athlete profiling, but its use for assessing explosive strength in various shoulder positions is underexplored. This study compared PF and RFD at shoulder abductions of 180° (ASH-I), 135° (ASH-Y), and 90° (ASH-T) in baseball players. Methods: Seventeen male athletes (age 22.7 ± 4.2 years; height 186.3 ± 7.3 cm; body mass 83.9 ± 10.1 kg) performed isometric ASH tests with the dominant arm. PF, PF relative to body mass (PF/BM), and early RFD were analysed. Results: ASH I showed 25% significantly higher PF (182 ± 41 N), PF/BM (2.15 ± 0.39 N/kg), and 40% higher RFD (545 N/s) than ASH Y or T (all p < 0.001), which did not differ significantly. PF showed excellent reliability (ICC = 0.86–0.93); RFD showed moderate-to-good reliability (ICC = 0.75–0.81). Smallest worthwhile changes were ~5% for PF and ~15% for RFD. Conclusions: Maximal isometric shoulder strength and explosiveness were highest at 180° abduction in baseball athletes, with no significant difference between 135° and 90°. PF demonstrated excellent reliability, while early RFD showed moderate to good reliability and higher variability, highlighting the need for repeated measures. These findings provide specific position reference values and support the inclusion of multiple abduction angles in shoulder strength assessment to detect neuromuscular deficits and monitor training adaptations in baseball athletes.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	© 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords:	throwing; ASH test; shoulder; athletes; isometrics; performance; injury prevention
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Health and Sport Sciences
Depositing User:	Omid Khaiyat
Date Deposited:	05 Sep 2025 10:53
Last Modified:	05 Sep 2025 10:53
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4748

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