Analysis of scapular kinematics in three planes of shoulder elevation: A comparison between men and women

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare scapular kinematics between men and women during shoulder flexion, scapular plane elevation, and shoulder abduction. Eleven healthy men and 11 healthy women participated in this study. As participants performed shoulder flexion, scapular plane elevation, and abduction at a consistent speed, an electromagnetic motion capture system was used to analyze scapular motion. The change in scapular orientation from its resting position was calculated at 30°, 60°, 90° and 120° of humeral elevation. The study found that scapular upward rotation and posterior tilt angles increased significantly with each successive humeral elevation angle, but less so in women than in men. Scapular internal or external rotation differed significantly according to the plane of elevation, that is the scapula was internally rotated during flexion, with no change during scapular plane elevation, and it was externally rotated during abduction. This variation was more marked in women. This study revealed gender differences in scapular kinematics during shoulder motion. During shoulder elevation, the scapulothoracic joint played a greater role in men than in women, whereas the glenohumeral joint played a greater role in women.

The epidemiology of injuries in adult amateur rowers: A cross-sectional study

“…Interestingly, the shoulder was not identified in the majority of previous studies and our results revealed that 11 of the 15 participants reporting a shoulder injury were women, and might be explained by difference in the kinematics of the shoulder between men and women. 20 In addition to injury site, significantly more overuse injuries were observed compared to traumatic injuries, which concurs with previous research in rowing. 10,12,21 The average probability of sustaining an injury through repetitive overuse was 71%, whereas traumatic was 22%.…”

Arm posture influences on regional supraspinatus and infraspinatus activation in isometric arm elevation efforts

“…The middle region of infraspinatus was the only region with sex-dependent activation. This may reflect the previous findings that suggested gender differences existed for shoulder neuromuscular control (Vafadar et al, 2015) and scapular kinematics (Nakayama et al, 2018). This may also be attributed to greater muscle mass of the middle region in male participants, as this region forms almost 50% of total muscle volume (Hermenegildo et al, 2013).…”