The adjunctive benefits of mirror cross education on kinetic chain exercise approach in volleyball athletes with scapular dyskinesis

BACKGROUND: Volleyball players as overhead athletes have the highest risk of developing scapular dyskinesis. The kinetic chain exercise-approach has gained a lot of attention because of its claims to provide an improved motor control and scapular kinematics. A form of cross exer-cise, known as mirror therapy, may enhance the effects of a kinetic-chain-approach on scapular posture, upper and lower limb performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the adjunctive benefits of mirror cross education in a kinetic chain approach, in volleyball athletes with SD. METHODS: Thirty-nine professional volleyball athletes were randomly assigned to three groups of 13 each, two experimental, the mirror cross education and kinetic chain approach, and one control. Both experimental groups performed a kinetic chain approach program, however, the mirror cross education group performed the exercise program with the addition of two mirrors that allowed athletes to observe their opposite non-dyskinetic scapula. Scapular posture asymmetries in cm, the Y-Balance and the Upper-Quarter Y-Balance after normalizing by limb length the reach distance in each direction, were assessed before and after performing each intervention for 6 weeks. RESULTS: 3x2 two-way Mixed ANOVAs detected significant interactions on scapular posture (P=0.001) on both experimental groups when compared with the control. The Y-Balance and the Upper Quarter Y-Balance scores at both mirror cross education and kinetic chain approach groups showed significant differences when compared with the control (P<0.05). Overall, variables showed significant superiority of the mirror cross education group. CONCLUSIONS: The Mirror-Cross-Education demonstrated significant effects in scapular posture and in the functional balance tests of vol-leyball athletes with scapular dyskinesis. (Cite this article as: Paraskevopoulos E, Simeonidis T, Tsolakis C, Koulouvaris P, Papandreou M. The adjunctive benefits of mirror cross education on kinetic chain exercise approach in volleyball athletes with scapular dyskinesis. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2022;62:98-109.