Original articleQuantification of shoulder tightness and associated shoulder kinematics and functional deficits in patients with stiff shoulders
Section snippets
Subjects
Forty-six patients suffering from unilateral SS (22 male, 24 female) between the ages of 48 and 85 (mean = 58.1, SD = 16.3) years agreed to have measurements taken as part of a routine clinical examinations. The affected shoulders (24 dominant shoulders and 22 nondominant shoulders) of the 46 patients were tested. Descriptive data of the subjects' characteristics are summarized in Table 1. The inclusion criteria of patients with SSs were: (1) a limited ROM of a shoulder joint (ROM losses of 25% or
Results
Table 2 presents measurements of anterior tightness, posterior tightness, humeral external rotation/internal rotation ROM, and scapular upward rotation/tipping ROM bilaterally in patients with SSs. Patients with SSs in either their dominant or nondominant shoulders demonstrated a statistically significant greater anterior/posterior shoulder tightness (p < 0.005), loss of humeral internal/external rotation ROM (p < 0.005), and loss of scapular upward rotation/tipping ROM (p < 0.005) as compared with
Discussion
ROM deficits have been documented in patients with SSs (Reeves, 1975, Wadsworth, 1986, Warner et al., 1990, Griggs et al., 2000Rundquist et al., 2003). It has been postulated that loss of humeral internal rotation and external rotation of the involved shoulder are the result of posterior shoulder tightness and anterior shoulder tightness, respectively (Tyler et al., 1999, Tyler et al., 2000, Rundquist et al., 2003, Warner et al., 1990). The results of the present study support this assumption.
Conclusions
Shoulder tightness, limited humeral and scapular ROM, and functional deficits were present in subjects with SSs. Humeral internal and external rotation ROM had moderate relationships with posterior and anterior shoulder tightness, respectively, in this population. Scapular tipping ROM was significantly correlated with anterior shoulder tightness. In addition to stretching program in patients with SSs, internal rotation ROM of control dominant shoulder is also important to consider in the
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