Impact of Scapular Muscle Endurance on Shooting Task in Recreational Basketball Players: A Pilot Study

Background: Scapular stability and endurance are essential components of upper limb biomechanics, particularly in overhead sports such as basketball. Proper functioning of scapular musculature contributes significantly to shoulder kinematics, affecting performance during shooting tasks. Despite this, limited research has explored the direct correlation between scapular muscle endurance and shooting efficiency in recreational basketball players. Purpose: This pilot study aimed to investigate the relationship between scapular muscle endurance and shooting task in recreational basketball players. Methods: The study included 12 recreational basketball players, aged 18 to 30 years. The subjects were selected according to inclusion exclusion criteria, each participant’s scapular muscle endurance was measured using scapular endurance test measured in kilograms and shooting task was assessed using Standardized shooting task which is 60 free throw attempts, performance was recorded as a percentage. Pearson correlation was used to determine the strength and significance of the relationship between scapular muscle endurance and free throw percentage. Results: A strong positive correlation was found between scapular muscle endurance and shooting task (r = 0.988, p = 0.0001). This indicates that higher scapular endurance is strongly associated with improved free throw accuracy. Conclusion: The results suggest that scapular muscle endurance plays a critical role in shooting task among recreational basketball players. Enhancing scapular endurance could potentially improve shooting accuracy, making it a key focus area in training and rehabilitation programs for athletes in overhead sports. Keywords: Athletic performances, muscular fatigue, muscle strength, shoulder joint.