An immediate effect of pectoralis minor muscle positional release technique on upper limb performance in adult badminton players - A pilot study

INTRODUCTION: Badminton is an individual, noncontact sport requiring jumps, lunges, quick changes in direction, and rapid arm movements from various postural positions. One of the most important soft-tissue changes is a shortening of the pectoralis minor, attributed to adaptive changes in pectoralis minor muscle (PMi) tension due to repetitive scapular protraction during overhead motion. A relatively short pectoralis minor has been reported on the dominant side of healthy overhead athletes. Upper-extremity muscle tightness could have affected the upper-extremity performance test. Daily badminton workouts improve physical health, specifically speed, strength, and aerobic fitness. The study aims to give positional release to the pectoralis minor and check the upper limb performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An experimental study was conducted on 15 players with pectoral minor tightness were included in the study and positional release is given to the PMi. A closed kinetic upper extremity stability test checks upper limb performance. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. RESULTS: A total number of 15 badminton players are included in this study. The statistical tool used in this analysis was t -test. Closed kinetic upper extremity stability test (premean = 18.53 ± 2.59 and postmean = 21.73 ± 2.74). The study shows that there is a statistically significant difference ( P < 0.05) in closed kinetic upper extremity stability test. CONCLUSION: The present study concluded that the immediate effect of positional release to pectoralis minor improves upper limb performance in badminton players.