Reliability and precision of 3D wireless measurement of scapular kinematics

Abstract

To direct interventions aimed at improving scapular position and motion in shoulder pathologies, a clinically feasible, objective, sensitive and reliable assessment of scapular dyskinesis is needed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the intra- and inter-observer reliability and the precision of 3D scapula kinematics measurement using wireless sensors of an inertial and magnetic measurement system (IMMS). Scapular kinematics during humerus anteflexion and abduction of 20 subjects without shoulder pathologies were measured twice by two observers at two different days, using IMMS. Similar movement patterns and corresponding high intraclass correlation coefficients were found within (intra) and between (inter) observers, especially for scapular retraction/protraction (0.65-0.85) and medio/lateral rotation (0.56-0.91). Lowest reliability and highest difference in range of motion were observed for anterior/posterior tilt. Medio/lateral rotation and anterior/posterior tilt showed a high precision, with standard error of measurement being mostly below 5°. The inter-observer measurements of retraction/protraction showed lowest precision, reflected in systematic differences. This is caused by an offset in anatomical calibration of the sensors. IMMS enables easy and objective measurement of 3D scapula kinematics. Further research in a patient population should focus on clinical feasibility and validity for measurement of scapular dyskinesis. This would include the application of a scapula locator to enhance anatomical calibration.

Assessment of Scapulothoracic, Glenohumeral, and Elbow Motion in Adhesive Capsulitis by Means of Inertial Sensor Technology: A Within-Session, Intra-Operator and Inter-Operator Reliability and Agreement Study

“…However, when inspecting the magnitude of ST ROMs, one might question their validity. When comparing to literature, reported ST ROM seems underestimated for lateral rotation and overestimated for posterior tilting [5,6,16,[24][25][26]. Parel et al [14,15] and van den Noort et al [26] reported good validity results for inertial sensor-based ST joint motion during arm elevation tasks, when an YZX-sequence for ST joint angle calculation was used [14][15][16]26].…”

Methods of posture analysis for computer workers

“…The most frequent analysis were conducted respectively high to low, involving nine (Botter et al, 2013;C.-H. Chen et al, 2013;Hernoux & Christmann, 2015;Kortier., 2015;Ogris et al, 2012;Seaman et al, 2010;Valero et al, 2016;van den Noort et al, 2014;Vignais et al, 2013) focused on hand and arm, four studies (Kortier et al, 2015;Peppoloni et al, 2016;Vignais et al, 2013;W. Y. Wong & Wong, 2008b) analyzed the trunk , five papers (Kuster et al, 2016;Vignais et al, 2013;Valero et al, 2016;Qin et al, 2014;Peppoloni et al, 2016) analyzed the movement of neck and shoulder, three paper (Holte et al, 2012;Antonio Diego-Mas et al, 2014;Botter et al,2013), analyzed posture.…”

Test–retest reliability of tip, key, and palmar pinch force sense in healthy adults

“…The subjects sat in a chair that was located approximately 60 cm from a 14-in. LCD monitor, and they assumed a whole-body posture that was in line with the American Society of Hand Therapists guidelines: the upper arm was positioned vertically, the elbow was flexed at 90°, and the forearm and wrist were set in neutral positions [23] (Fig. 1a).…”