Article

Despite a high prevalence of rotator cuff impingements or tears in
the elderly population, little research has focused on how this injured
population adapts to perform tasks of daily living. The current study
investigated the influence of rotator cuff impingements in this population on
kinematics and shoulder loading differences, while completing activities of daily
living. METHODS: Upper limb and trunk movement was measured for thirteen
asymptomatic elderly and ten elderly subjects with rotator cuff impingements
during five range of motion tasks and six activities of daily living.
Thoracohumeral kinematics was derived from this data. FINDINGS: Symptomatic
populations showed significantly decreased ranges of flexion/extension, abduction
and internal and external rotation when compared to the asymptomatic population.
The asymptomatic population had a 44% larger range of angle of elevation than the
symptomatic population. Task was found to be a main effect for most variables
examined including angle of elevation. Participants with impingements had
significantly lower ranges of humeral rotations during the tasks with ranges of
40 degrees (SD 40 degrees ) and 51 degrees (SD 36 degrees ) respectively.
Perineal care, hair-combing and reaching tasks were the most demanding in terms
of the required range of motion. The reaching tasks resulted in the highest
shoulder moment. INTERPRETATION: Developing adaptations for perineal care,
hair-combing and reaching tasks should be prioritized when working with persons
with rotator cuff impingements, as these tasks demanded the largest ranges of
motion while producing high shoulder moments. Substantial differences existed
between the experimental groups for a number of kinematic measures.
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Langue : ANGLAIS