Effects of muscle fatigue on 3-dimensional scapular kinematics

doi:10.1016/S0003-9993(03)00127-8

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Volume 84, Issue 7, July 2003, Pages 1000-1005

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-9993(03)00127-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

Tsai N-T, McClure PW, Karduna AR. Effects of muscle fatigue on 3-dimensional scapular kinematics. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2003;84:1000-5.

Objective:

To determine the effects of fatigue during an external rotation task on 3-dimensional scapular kinematics.

Design:

A single-group, pretest-posttest measurement design.

Setting:

Research laboratory.

Participants:

Thirty healthy subjects.

Interventions:

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures:

Three-dimensional scapular kinematics were recorded with a Polhemus magnetic tracking device during arm elevation in the scapular plane.

Results:

There was a significant fatigue effect for all scapular rotations in the early to middle phases of humeral elevation. Significantly less posterior tilting (up to 90° of elevation), external rotation (up to 120° of elevation), and upward rotation (up to 60° of elevation) were observed. Additionally, there were fair to good correlations (r range, .39–.60) between the changes in scapular posterior tilting and the amount of muscle fatigue.

Conclusions:

Fatigue in shoulder external rotation altered the scapular resting position and the movement of posterior tilting in the early range during arm elevation in the scapular plane. Observed changes in scapular kinematics may affect the amount of area in the subacromial space and facilitate impingement. Data regarding changes produced by fatigue of the external rotators may also help with the development of a model of diminished rotator cuff function.

Section snippets

Study design and participants

A 1-group pretest-posttest measurement design was used, with 1 investigator performing the entire testing procedure. Thirty subjects who indicated that they had no history of cervical or shoulder pain or pathology and who showed no range of motion restriction were recruited for this study. Based on previous kinematic data,29 the power to detect a difference of greater than 2° is better than 85%. There were 16 women and 14 men, with a mean age of 28±6 years, a mean height of 170±9cm, and a mean

Results

The ICC_3,1 values for measurements of scapular motions were analyzed at the minimal, 30°, 60°, 90°, 120°, and maximal humeral elevations. All the ICC values were above 0.9, and the SE of measurement for each point ranged from 1.0° to 2.6°.

There was a significant effect of fatigue on the scapular resting position for all rotations. For posterior tilting, significant changes were found up to 90° of humeral elevation. The biggest mean difference was approximately 4° at the beginning of arm

Discussion

The results of this study indicate that scapular kinematics can be temporarily altered with fatigue of the external rotators. All 3 rotations were altered after the fatiguing exercise; however, the maximal increase was no more than 4°. However, for posterior tilting, this represented almost a 50% change in rotation after the fatiguing exercise. This is consistent with other studies showing small changes in scapular kinematics with fatigue,12, 13 resistance level,37, 38 passive positioning,37, 39

Conclusion

This study showed that small but potentially clinically significant changes in scapular kinematics were found after an external rotation fatigue protocol. The altered scapular 3-dimensional movements occurred in the first part of arm elevation in the scapular plane. The fair to good correlation (r range, .39–.60) between the changes in scapular posterior tilting and the reduction in muscle strength suggest that the larger the muscle imbalance between internal and external shoulder rotators due

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View full text

ArticleEffects of muscle fatigue on 3-dimensional scapular kinematics1

Abstract

Objective:

Design:

Setting:

Participants:

Interventions:

Main Outcome Measures:

Results:

Conclusions:

Section snippets

Study design and participants

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

J Shoulder Elbow Surg

Clin Biomech

J Shoulder Elbow Surg

Clin Biomech

J Hand Ther

J Shoulder Elbow Surg

J Shoulder Elbow Surg

J Biomech

Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon)

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

Arch Phys Med Rehabil

Functional anatomy of the shoulder complex

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther

The role of the scapula

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther

Comparison of 3-dimensional scapular position and orientation between subjects with and without shoulder impingement

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther

Scapulothoracic motion in normal shoulders and shoulders with glenohumeral instability and impingement syndrome

Clin Orthop

Rotation-abduction analysis in 10 normal and 20 pathological shoulders. Elite system application

Surg Radiol Anat

Analysis of the scapulo-humeral rhythm for periarthritis scapulohumeralis

J Jpn Orthop Assoc

Glenohumeral movements of the involuntary inferior and multidirectional instability

Clin Orthop

Three-dimensional recording and description of motions of the shoulder mechanism

J Biomech Eng

Scapulothoracic muscle fatigue associated with alterations in scapulohumeral rhythm kinematics during maximum resistive shoulder elevation

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther

Patterns of electromyographic shoulder muscle fatigue during MTM-paced repetitive arm work with and without pauses

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

Electromyographic signs of shoulder muscle fatigue in repetitive arm work paced by the methods-time measurement system

Scand J Work Environ Health

Article
Effects of muscle fatigue on 3-dimensional scapular kinematics1