Effectiveness of sleeper’s stretch on proprioception and range of motion in volleyball and basketball athletes with glenohumeral internal rotation deficit

Glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) is a common impairment of neuromuscular origin that affects overhead athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 4-week sleeper stretch program on proprioception and range of motion (ROM) in athletes clinically diagnosed with GIRD. This study was a single group crossover study design (pre-post). The athletes underwent sleeper stretching program (5 sessions/week for 4 weeks) on the affected and non-affected sides. A total of 32 male athletes (15 basketball/17 volleyball were assessed for outcome measures of internal rotation (IR), external rotation (ER), total range of motion (TROM), and proprioception in ER, IR, and TROM (eyes open and eyes closed) at baseline and at the end of intervention. The affected side ROM significantly improved from 54.53±8.90° to 77.56±4.33° and 58.27±3.33° to 81.10±3.67° for volleyball and basketball athletes, respectively (IR ROM); from 114.56±5.88° to 95.77±6.66° and 119.44±4.67° to 104.23±5.05° for volleyball and basketball athletes, respectively (ER ROM); and from 169.90±5.78° to 173.11±5.88° and 177.28±5.88° to 186.89±3.79° for volleyball and basketball athletes, respectively (TROM), after the four-week sleeper stretch exercise. The ROM changes were non-significant on the non-affected side (P>0.05). The ANOVA reading for individual sports was found to be significant: volleyball athlete IR: [P<0.05, effect size (ES)=0.63], basketball athlete IR: [P<0.05, ES=0.74], volleyball athlete ER [P<0.05, ES=0.49), basketball athlete ER [P<0.05, ES=0.38). However, there was no significant improvement in proprioception measured with both eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) for the IR, ER, and TROM. This study establishes the important role of sleeper’s stretching protocol in improvement of internal rotation, external rotation, and total rotational motion of the affected side. These findings may have important clinical implications in the management of GIRD in volleyball and basketball athletes.