Rethinking Warm-Up in Overhead Exercise: Acute Shoulder Responses to a Strength- and Mobility-Oriented Protocol in Youth Athletes

Abstract Overhead sports place high demands on the shoulder complex, making warm-up specificity relevant for acute readiness. This randomized controlled pilot trial compared the immediate effects of a shoulder-specific warm-up with a habitual routine in 24 youth competitive overhead athletes (14–20 years), allocated to an experimental group (EG = 12) and a habitual warm-up group (SWG = 12). The warm-up protocol was administered bilaterally to both shoulders, whereas outcome measurements were collected unilaterally, with each shoulder tested separately. Assessments were performed before and immediately after the warm-up protocol. Outcome measures included shoulder flexion range of motion (ROM), handgrip strength, Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability (CKCUES) performance, and post-warm-up Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE; Borg CR-10). A significant group-by-time interaction was found for right shoulder flexion ROM (p = 0.003, η2p = 0.346), with a significant increase in the EG from baseline to post-test (p = 0.008). No significant effects were observed for left shoulder flexion ROM, handgrip strength, or CKCUES performance. Post-warm-up RPE was statistically significant in the EG compared to the SWG (p = 0.041). These preliminary findings may suggest the potential practical value of more targeted warm-up strategies in overhead sports, while larger longitudinal studies are needed to confirm their broader functional relevance.