The effects of sleeper stretch vs. crossbody stretch in overhead athletes with shoulder pain and glenohumeral internal rotation deficit: a randomized controlled trial.

Overhead athletes, such as throwers or volleyball players, often develop glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD), a tightness in the back of the shoulder joint linked to shoulder pain. This randomized, double-blind controlled trial compared two common stretching techniques for this problem, the sleeper stretch and the cross-body stretch, in 35 athletes with shoulder pain and GIRD, who performed their assigned stretch three times weekly for four weeks. Both groups improved: pain intensity dropped by about 2.17 points in the sleeper stretch group and 1.54 points in the cross-body group, and GIRD decreased by roughly 14.7 degrees in both groups.

However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two techniques for either pain or range of motion. Adherence, tolerance, and reported co-interventions were similar between groups. Because both groups improved similarly without a no-treatment comparison, it isn't possible to say from this trial alone how much of the improvement was due to the stretches themselves versus other factors like time or usual training.

If you're an overhead athlete, like a thrower or volleyball player, dealing with shoulder pain and a specific type of stiffness in the back of the shoulder called GIRD, this study looked at two stretches physiotherapists commonly use to help: the sleeper stretch and the cross-body stretch. Researchers randomly assigned 35 athletes with this condition to do one of the two stretches three times a week for four weeks, without either group or the assessors knowing which stretch was considered the main comparison. Both groups experienced reduced pain and improved shoulder rotation after four weeks.

On average, the sleeper stretch group's pain dropped by about 2 points and the cross-body group's by about 1.5 points on a pain scale, and both groups gained back a similar amount of internal rotation motion, around 14 to 15 degrees. There was no meaningful difference found between the two stretches for either outcome.

People tolerated both stretches similarly well. Since there was no comparison group that skipped stretching altogether, this study can't tell us for certain how much of the improvement came from the stretches themselves.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This double-blind RCT enrolled 35 competitive overhead athletes with shoulder pain and GIRD, randomized to sleeper stretch (n=18) or cross-body stretch (n=17), delivered three times weekly for four weeks. Primary outcomes were pain intensity and glenohumeral internal rotation ROM, with affective response, adherence, and co-interventions tracked secondarily. Both groups showed statistically significant within-group reductions in pain (SSG -2.17, 95% CI -3.13 to -1.21; CBG -1.54, 95% CI -2.53 to -0.55) and GIRD (SSG -14.69 degrees, 95% CI -19.48 to -9.89; CBG -14.77 degrees, 95% CI -19.70 to -9.84), but no statistically significant between-group difference was reported for either outcome.

Affective responses, adherence, and reported co-interventions were comparable across arms, suggesting similar tolerability, though no formal adverse event assessment was described beyond this. The absence of a no-treatment or sham control limits causal attribution of the within-group improvements to the stretching interventions specifically, and the modest sample size constrains precision and generalizability. These findings support equivalence between the two techniques as studied, but longer-term outcomes and comparison against other conservative approaches remain unaddressed.