Upper limb joint position sense during shoulder flexion in healthy individuals: a pilot study to develop a new assessment method

Normative values and the influence of sex, hand dominance, and direction of movement on active wrist joint position sense in young healthy adults

BACKGROUND

Active wrist joint position sense (JPS) is a feasible method for determining wrist proprioception. However, the normative values and factors affecting wrist JPS are not known.

OBJECTIVES

To identify normative values of active wrist JPS in young healthy adults and explore the influence of sex, hand dominance and direction of wrist movement.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHOD

JPS of 100 individuals aged 18-40 years, (male: female = 51:49) were measured at two wrist positions (20° flexion/extension) using the active wrist JPS test. Absolute error (in degrees) was calculated and summarized using descriptive measures. Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance was performed to determine the differences in JPS error based on sex, dominance and direction of wrist movement.

RESULTS

Mean absolute JPS flexion error on the dominant side was 3.47°(SD = 3.91°), and non-dominant side was 3.26°(SD = 3.23°). Mean absolute JPS extension error on the dominant side was 3.35°(SD = 3.43°), and non-dominant side was 4.59°(SD = 4.82°). Compared to males, females had more absolute error for flexion and extension on the dominant side. No significant difference was found in the absolute error between the dominant and non-dominant sides or between flexion and extension.

CONCLUSION

These normative values of active JPS in young healthy adults can help clinicians while assessing proprioceptive impairments of the wrist. Differences in JPS errors due to sex were found, but not due to dominance or direction of movement. These findings can guide future research on mechanisms involved in wrist JPS.

Comparing postoperative proprioception of the glenohumeral joint between the open and the arthroscopic Latarjet procedure

BACKGROUND

Shoulder proprioception, in which the anterior glenohumeral capsule plays a major role, is critical to the functioning of the shoulder. Consequently, most surgeons either do not resect or reinsert the anterior capsule in shoulder stabilization surgery. In the original open Latarjet procedure (OLP), the anterior capsule is preserved. However, in the all-arthroscopic Latarjet procedure (ALP), complete anterior capsule resection is recommended for better view and access to the coracoid. This raises the question if there is a postoperative difference in proprioception between these 2 procedures. Therefore, the aims of this study are (1) to assess the difference in postoperative proprioception between the operated and healthy sides after the OLP and ALP and (2) to compare the difference in postoperative proprioception on the operated side between the OLP and ALP.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis including all patients who underwent a proprioception test after an OLP or ALP at our center. Collected baseline characteristics included sex, age at surgery, operated side, hand dominance, presence of a Hill-Sachs lesion, and time between surgery and the proprioception test. For the test, patients were positioned 1 meter from a wall. They were blindfolded and had to point at a target with a laser pointer taped to their index finger. The laser point was marked and the errors were measured horizontally and vertically and categorized as <4 cm, 4-8 cm, 8-16 cm, and >16 cm.

RESULTS

Between April 2022 and April 2024, a total of 91 cases were identified, of which 24 underwent an OLP and 67 underwent an ALP. No significant difference was found in error distribution between the healthy and operated side after both the OLP (P = .30 horizontally, P = .67 vertically) and ALP (P = .20 horizontally, P = .34 vertically). Moreover, there was no significant difference in error distribution between the operated sides after the OLP vs. ALP (P = .52 horizontally; P = .61 vertically).

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that postoperative proprioception is not significantly different between the operated and healthy sides after both the OLP and ALP, nor between the operated sides after the OLP vs. after the ALP. This might imply that completely resecting the anterior glenohumeral capsule does not have a detrimental effect on shoulder proprioception. However, these results are multifactorial and prospective studies are needed to better understand the regeneration potential of glenohumeral capsule mechanoreceptors and the importance of the anterior capsule for shoulder proprioception.

Reduced shoulder proprioception due to fatigue after repeated handball throws and evaluation of test-retest reliability of a clinical shoulder joint position test

Background

Proprioception is vital for motor control and can be disturbed, for example, due to fatigue or injury. Clinical feasible, reliable and valid tests of shoulder proprioception are warranted. The aim was to investigate the effects of local fatigue on shoulder proprioception and the reliability of a feasible joint position sense test using an experimental repeated measures design.

Method

Forty participants repeated a shoulder joint position sense test to assess test-retest reliability. The test was then utilized on a subgroup of handball players who were subjected to five bouts of a repeated throwing task with the dominant hand. The effect of local fatigue was investigated by comparing the fatigued with the non-fatigued shoulder.

Results

There was a significant interaction for the arm × bout (p = 0.028, ηp2 = 0.20) and a significant effect for the arm (p = 0.034, ηp2 = 0.35) with a significant decrease in joint position sense for the throwing arm compared to the non-throwing arm. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.78 (95% CI = [0.57; 0.89]). The standard error of measurement between trials was 0.70° (range: 0.57°-0.90°).

Discussion

The results indicate that repeated throwing to fatigue disturbs shoulder joint position sense. Assessment with the modified test showed acceptable reliability and can be a valuable assessment tool in the clinic.

Does Taping Have an Immediate Effect on Shooting the Target?

In overhead shooting athletes may have increased activity of the upper trapezius and inhibition of other shoulder muscles active during upper extremity elevation. In this study, we aimed to increase target retention and shoulder proprioception sense accuracy by taping in a way that would activate the lower trapezius muscle in elite adolescent archers. Our participants were 43 elite young athletes, aged 11-14 years, from the Archers Foundation Sports Club. We gathered athletes' sociodemographic information (age, height, weight, gender, the time they were engaged in archery, and other sports they were involved in), and we assessed their posture via the New York Posture Scale (NYPS) before taping. We evaluated them for the presence of scapular asymmetry using the Lateral Scapular Slide Test (LSST) and assessed their proprioception with the active displacement test and their target-reaching performances with the Archery Shooting Score (ASS). Since testing and scoring with the ASS is different for 11-12 and 13-14 age groups, we divided this sample into two different age groups for all analyses. There were significant changes in ASS and proprioception in both age groups, with medium to large effect sizes. There were between intragroup pre- and post-taping changes in classification according to the presence of scapular asymmetry, and there were significant changes in the archery shooting score and proprioception in both groups, with medium to large effect sizes (p < 0.05). Thus, taping applied to the lower part of the trapezius had a large to medium effect on proprioception and shooting accuracy improvement in these young archers.

Laser-Pointer assisted angle reproduction test (LP-ART): reliability, performance, and correlation with shoulder pain and disability in patients with subacromial pain syndrome

INTRODUCTION

The proprioception plays an important role in the stability of the shoulder joint. However, clinical practice lacks reliable and user-friendly tools.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the Laser-Pointer assisted Angle Reproduction Test (LP-ART), to analyze the difference in proprioception between the symptomatic and asymptomatic shoulders, and to investigate if there is a correlation between the LP-ART and the pain intensity assessed by 11-point Numerical Rating Pain Scale (NRPS) and the level of shoulder disability and pain assessed by the Disability Index and Shoulder Pain (SPADI - BR).

METHODS

Fifty patients (age = 56.2 ± 10.4 years) performed the LP-ART at 90° of shoulder flexion.

RESULTS

The intra and interrater reliability of the LP-ART measurements was moderate (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient_2,3 = 0.41 to 0.65) for both shoulders, symptomatic and asymptomatic. There was no difference in the absolute angular deviation between shoulders (mean difference of 0.4°, P = .581). The absolute angular deviation was not significantly correlated with the pain intensity (rs = 0.007, P = .962) and the SPADI - BR (r_s = 0.022, P = .881).

CONCLUSION

The LP-ART measurement showed moderate reliability in participants with subacromial pain syndrome. The active joint position sense was not different between symptomatic and asymptomatic shoulders, and there was no correlation between proprioception and the pain intensity and shoulder pain and disability level.

The Effect of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Tear on Wrist Proprioception

PURPOSE

This study examined the influence of triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) deep fiber tears on wrist proprioception.

METHODS

The study involved 48 subjects: 24 with deep fiber TFCC tears and 24 with healthy wrists. A specially created sensor measured wrist proprioception in 3 axes of movement. Absolute differences between target and subject-reproduced angles were compared in injured and healthy wrists and in injured and contralateral patient wrists. A greater difference in reproduced angles was deemed to reflect a lesser ability to approximate a target angle.

RESULTS

In wrists with TFCC injuries, 40° pronation and 60° pronation showed significantly greater differences between target and subject-reproduced angles compared with those in the control wrists. In wrists with TFCC injuries, 40° pronation demonstrated significantly greater differences between target and subject-reproduced angles than did those in patients' contralateral wrists. Proportions of outliers with absolute differences greater than 6° were significantly higher in 60° supination and 40° pronation in wrists with TFCC injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

Deep TFCC fiber detachment may lead to decreased wrist proprioception in 60° and 40° forearm rotation.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Deep TFCC fiber tear may contribute to decreased wrist rotational positioning sense and may have biomechanical importance in distal radioulnar joint stability.