Reliability of upper extremity rotation test in overhead athletes and its relationship with selected upper extremity performance tests

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of the Upper Extremity Rotation Test in overhead athletes and the relationship between the Upper Extremity Y Balance Test and the Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test, which are frequently used tests to evaluate the upper extremity performance of the Upper Extremity Rotation Test. A total of 48 athletes (Age: 19.97 ± 2.62 years, body mass index: 22.26 ± 2.64 kg/ m²), including 24 women and 24 men, were included in the study. The branches of the athletes included in the study were volleyball (n=16), basketball (n=16) and handball (n=16). In order to evaluate the test-retest reliability, the Upper Extremity Rotation Test was performed twice with a one-week interval, while the Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test and Upper Extremity Y Balance Test were performed once. Upper Extremity Rotation Test showed high reliability for both dominant (ICC: 0.80) and non-dominant extremities (ICC: 0.81) in overhead athletes. Standard measurement error and minimum detectable change values were calculated to evaluate the absolute reliability of the Upper Extremity Rotation Test. SEM (standard measurement error) value was 1,15 for dominant extremity, 1,22 for the nondominant exremity; MDC (minimum detectable change) value of 3,18 for dominant extremity, 3,38 for the nondominant extremity. While no correlation was observed between Upper Extremity Rotation Test and Upper Extremity Y Balance Test (dominant extremity: r:0.01, p:0.94; non-dominant extremity: r:0.005, p:0.97), Upper Extremity Rotation Test and Closed There was a moderate positive correlation between the Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test (dominant extremity normalized value: r:0.54, p<0.001; non-dominant extremity normalized value: r:0.65, p<0.001).