The Effect of Regular Exercising on Shoulder Pain and Scapular Endurance

Purpose: Serratus Anterior and Trapezius muscles are the most important stabilizers of the scapulothoracic joint. Inadequate endurance of these muscles plays a crucial role in reduced neuromuscular performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of regular exercise on scapular muscle endurance and shoulder pain in young individuals. Methods: This study was designed as a prospective controlled study. Participants' clinical and socio-demographic characteristics were documented, the Scapular Muscular Endurance (SME) test was employed to evaluate scapular muscle endurance, and shoulder pain was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale. Results: One hundred participants exercising regularly (38 females, mean age 21.37±0.23 years) and 100 sedentary participants (55 females, mean age 21.21±0.20 years) were included. Participants were divided into two groups: those who had pain and those who did not. Scapular endurance of the regular exercising group and the sedentary group with pain and without pain was compared. In all groups, SME was found to be higher in favour of the regularly exercising group (p<0.001). The groups were not shown significant in terms of shoulder pain (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Awareness of exercising regularly from the young ages should be raised for both to emphasize the importance of exercising regularly and to prevent shoulder problems that may occur in the following ages.