Proprioception 3 years after shoulder arthroplasty in 3D motion analysis: a prospective study

Abstract

In conclusion, proprioception that was measured by an AAR test remained unchanged or deteriorated 3 years after shoulder arthroplasty. The postoperative deterioration of proprioception was more distinctive in HEMI than in TSA group.

Development of Proprioception After Shoulder Arthroplasty

“…It is known that joint proprioception plays a considerable role in stabilization of the normal healthy shoulder by helping to control muscular action [1]. However, there is little data available about proprioception of the replaced shoulder before and after surgery [6,12,16]. Parameters routinely examined in previous studies include pain, satisfaction, range of motion, and strength [5].…”

“…However, to date there are only three studies analyzing proprioception after shoulder replacement [6,12,16]. Two of these studies [6,12] have a short follow-up period, in both cases six months.…”

“…It was assumed that this finding was most likely attributable to the relatively short rehabilitation period of six months. Therefore, the purpose of the third study by Maier et al [16] was to examine the patients from the study described by Kasten et al [12,14] again three years postoperatively to find out whether proprioception changes after a longer rehabilitation period of three years. In the present study, the same active and unlimited angle-reproduction test with 3D motion analysis was used as described before [12].…”

“…In our studies [12,16], we used the Heidelberg Upper Extremity Model (HUX) to measure joint angles as described before [23]: Therefore a twelve-camera motion analysis system (Vicon 612; Vicon, Lake Forest, USA) working at 120 Hz was used to monitor the patients' movements. The spatial resolution of the system was approximately 1 mm.…”

“…As described before [12,16], our study group used an active angle reproduction test to measure proprioception: Test person sat on a chair with the arm hanging in 0° abduction and rotation. They were blindfolded to eliminate visual clues and wore sleeveless shirts.…”