OBJECTIVES: The aim of the research was to examine the effectiveness of a rotator cuff training for muscle strength, shoulder stability and range of motion, regarding the accuracy of throwing, increasing the effectiveness of the participating basketball players, as well as the accuracy of passes.

METHODS: The research was a longitudinal, prospective, quantitative study with non-random, convenience sampling. 32 young teenage girls’ basketball players (test group and control group) took part in the research (n=32). The research was conducted in Budapest and Pécs between October and December 2022. The players of the study group completed an 8-week exercise program 3 times a week. In case of the control group there was no intervention program. Before and after the start of the exercise program, we measured strength of the muscles around the shoulder (Davies Test), shoulder stability (Y-Balance Test), shoulder joint range of motion (ROM), throwing- (successful releases / 70 releases) and passing accuracy (successful passes/10 passes).

RESULTS: In case of the study group, both the strength of the muscles around the shoulder between the first (31.75±4.86 repetitions) and the second (40.19±3.78 repetitions) measurement (p<0.001), the stability of the shoulder joint between the first (78.67±2.60%; 78.50±4.27%) and the second (89.15±2.77%; 89.21±7.92%) measurement (p<0.001) and the range of motion (p<0.05), as well as the throwing between the first (37.25±6.16) and the second (48.44±5.40) measurement (p≤0.001) and passing accuracy between the first (3.75±1.39; 2.81±1.64) and the second (7.19±1.42; 6.13±1.15) measurement (p<0.001) we achieved a significant improvement.

CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results that were achieved, the rotator cuff training can be effective in increasing the strength of the muscles around the shoulder, increasing shoulder joint stability and range of motion, and improving throwing and passing accuracy among basketball players.