Load-induced increase in muscle activity during 30° abduction in patients with rotator cuff tears and control subjects

Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology

Original Article

Eleonora Croci¹  Annegret Mündermann²  Corina Nüesch²  Fabian Warmuth³  Andreas Marc Müller³  Cornelia Baum⁴  Balazs Krisztian Kovacs⁵  Daniel Baumgartner⁶ 

[1] Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Spine Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Clinical Research, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;Research and Development, Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Schulthess Klinik, Zurich, Switzerland;Department of Radiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland;IMES Institute of Mechanical Systems, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland;

关键词: Shoulder;    Rotator cuff tear;    Rotator cuff tendinopathy;    Electromyography;    Abduction;    Scaption;    Motion capture;    Muscle activity;    Magnetic resonance;    Load;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s10195-023-00720-8

 received in 2023-05-04, accepted in 2023-07-20,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRotator cuff muscles stabilise the glenohumeral joint and contribute to the initial abduction phase with other shoulder muscles. This study aimed to determine if the load-induced increase in shoulder muscle activity during a 30° abduction test is influenced by asymptomatic or symptomatic rotator cuff pathologies.Materials and MethodsTwenty-five patients with unilateral rotator cuff tears (age, 64.3 ± 10.2 years), 25 older control subjects (55.4 ± 8.2 years) and 25 younger control subjects (26.1 ± 2.3 years) participated in this study. Participants performed a bilateral 30° arm abduction and adduction movement in the scapular plane with handheld weights (0–4 kg). Activity of the deltoid, infraspinatus, biceps brachii, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi and upper trapezius muscles was analysed at maximum abduction angle after normalisation to maximum voluntary contraction. Shoulders were classified into rotator cuff tendinopathy, asymptomatic and symptomatic rotator cuff tears, and healthy based on magnetic resonance images. A linear mixed model (loads, shoulder types) with random effects (shoulder identification) was applied to the log-transformed muscle activities.ResultsMuscle activity increased with increasing load in all muscles and shoulder types (P < 0.001), and 1-kg increments in additional weights were significant (P < 0.001). Significant effects of rotator cuff pathologies were found for all muscles analysed (P < 0.05). In all muscles, activity was at least 20% higher in symptomatic rotator cuff tears than in healthy shoulders (P < 0.001). Symptomatic rotator cuff tears showed 20–32% higher posterior deltoid (P < 0.05) and 19–25% higher pectoralis major (P < 0.01) activity when compared with asymptomatic tears.ConclusionsRotator cuff pathologies are associated with greater relative activity of shoulder muscles, even with low levels of additional load. Therefore, the inclusion of loaded shoulder tests in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of rotator cuff pathologies can provide important insight into the functional status of shoulders and can be used to guide treatment decisions.Level of evidence: Level 2.Trial registration: Ethical approval was obtained from the regional ethics committee (Ethics Committee Northwest Switzerland EKNZ 2021-00182), and the study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov on 29 March 2021 (trial registration number NCT04819724, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04819724).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Societa Italiana di Ortopedia e Traumatologia (Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology SIOT) 2023

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