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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Background: Impingement syndrome is often reported in literature and clinical practice although its
meaning has varied along time and is ambiguous. Rotator cuff tears can be the final step of impingement
syndrome conditions, and can be investigated with clinical tests, one of which is drop arm test (DAT). Aims:
The aim of this study was to verify the correlation between rotator cuff gravity of lesion, pain, function and
the kinematic characteristics of DAT such as the arch of movement and smoothness (SPARC measure).
Methods: Twenty subjects with rotator cuff pathology performed DAT bilaterally and kinematic data were
caught with a motion capture system. Information on ultrasound gravity of lesion, function (DASH scale) and
pain were previously collected. Kinematic variables and smoothness were then calculated. Results: No
statistically significant differences were found between smoothness in the two shoulders (median SPARC
rating -9.7305 for the painful shoulder and -10.1569 for the healthy shoulder; Z=-1.12, p= 0,263). In our
sample subjects tended to move in a similar way between the two limbs in terms of smoothness, arch of
movement and velocity. Pain and function were not correlated to the other variables. Conclusion: The
asymptomatic arm moved faster than the painful one , even though DAT requires to slowly lower the arm to
side. Conversely, subjects with more disability tended to move the painful arm faster. Affected and
unaffected limbs had similar smoothness. Furthermore, the level of gravity of the lesion did not seem to play
a role in determining the performance during the test and pain was not correlated with any other variable. A
relation between the level of smoothness, the arch of movement and velocity in the painful and uninvolved
limb was found suggesting that subjects tended to move in a uniform way between the two sides.
Description
Keywords
Drop arm test Smoothness Kinematic analysis