Measurement and classification of scapular kinematics

Warner, Martin Bryan (2011) Measurement and classification of scapular kinematics. University of Southampton, Faculty of Health Sciences, Doctoral Thesis, 373pp.

Abstract

Shoulder pain is associated with abnormal movement of the scapula. Quantitative measurement and classification of abnormal scapular kinematics, however, is difficult due to the gliding nature of the scapula beneath the skin surface, and large variation in data. The aims of this study were to determine the validity and reliability of the acromion marker cluster (AMC) in measuring scapular kinematics during the arm lowering phase, to measure poor control of the scapula in people with a history of shoulder pain and a group with shoulder impingement, and objectively classify poor control scapular control. The validity and reliability of the AMC was compared to the scapular locator. The AMC was valid during sagittal and scapular plane arm lowering movements (max root mean square error = 6.1°), but had poor to fair reliability (ICC = 0.12 – 0.76). The AMC was used to determine whether a group of people with a history of pain, and those with shoulder impingement, exhibited poor scapular control when performing a scapular repositioning clinical manoeuvre, compared to a healthy control group. The history of pain group exhibited an increased position of scapular downward rotation (-7.9° ± 6.3) at the end of the manoeuvre when compared to the healthy control group (0.3° ± 4.4). There were no statistical differences in people with shoulder impingement. A statistical classification technique based on the Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence (DST) was used to objectively classify participants as having poor scapular control. Six kinematic variables were was used as input in to the DST classifier which classified 5 out of the 6 history of pain participants as having poor scapular control, with an accuracy of 72%. The DST multivariate classifier was reasonably successful at classifying participants with poor scapular control suggesting its potential use for future analysis of abnormal scapular kinematics.

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Contributors

Thesis advisor: Maria Stokes

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