Presence of scapular dysfunction in dominant shoulder of professional guitar players

Background: Playing guitar can cause adoption of asymmetric postures and affect the shoulder's stability.

Objective: To assess the presence of scapular dysfunction in professional guitar players.

Method: A lateral scapular slide test was performed at the level of the spine of the scapula and at the inferior angle of the scapula in 20 professional guitar players (age: 18-40 years) and was compared with 20 age-matched non-players at angles of 0°, 45° and 90° of shoulder abduction with both limbs loaded with 0.5-kg weights. Analysis was done by unpaired t test.

Results: Scapular dysfunction in guitar players was seen in the form of asymmetric scapula at rest in 25% and dyskinetic scapula in 20% of players. 100% of non-players had normal scapular positioning. Comparison at the level of the spine of the scapula showed no significant difference (p > 0.05), but the inferior angle showed a significant difference at 0° (1.37 cm), 45° (1.93 cm) and 90° (2.15 cm) which was more in the player's category (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: There exists a marked dysfunction of scapular stabilizers in professional guitar players at the level of the inferior angle of the scapula.