The Reliability of ULRT in Overhead Athletes and Its Relationship With Selected UEPT

The athlete is positioned with the shoulder, elbow lateral epicondyle, greater trochanter, and ankle lateral malleolus in contact with the wall. In the push-up position, the elbows are started at shoulder height with a 90° bend, and the feet are placed in a shoulder-width apart position. Athletes are instructed to perform a rotation of the shoulder and trunk by touching a vertically placed band on the wall for 15 seconds in the position of 90° abduction and 90° external rotation of the shoulder. The tested side is the upper extremity where the closed kinetic chain position is maintained.

Athletes were placed in a push-up position with a distance of 91.44 centimeters (cm) (3 feet) between their hands for the test position. Subsequently, they were instructed to touch one hand to the other as quickly as possible. The total number of touches within a 15-second period was recorded. Modified push-up position was used for women, and regular push-up position for men during this time. Prior to the test, a familiarization trial consisting of 5 repetitions was performed. The test was then repeated 3 times, and the average of these repetitions was recorded as the score. Individuals were given a 45-second rest period between repetitions. The normalized score, representing the touch count per individual's height, was calculated. The power score was obtained by multiplying the touch count by 68% of the individual's body weight in kilograms.

The Upper Extremity Y Balance Test was created using three rulers placed on the ground in the medial, inferolateral, and superolateral directions. The rulers in the superolateral and inferolateral directions were positioned at a 90° angle to each other, while the ruler in the medial direction was placed at a 135° angle with respect to these two directions. In this test, both arms started in a push-up position with shoulder-width apart. The athlete was then instructed to touch, using their non-dominant hand, the maximum reachable point in the medial, inferolateral, and superolateral directions.