title: Movement control in patients with shoulder instability: a comparison between patients after open surgery and nonoperated patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Open surgery to correct shoulder instability is deemed to facilitate recovery of static and dynamic motor functions. Postoperative assessments focus primarily on static outcomes (e.g., repositioning accuracy). We introduce kinematic measures of arm smoothness to assess shoulder patients after open surgery and compare them with nonoperated patients. Performance among both groups of patients was hypothesized to differ. Postsurgery patients were expected to match healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  All participants performed pointing movements with the affected/dominant arm fully extended at fast, preferred, and slow speeds (36 trials per subject). Kinematic data were collected (100 Hz, 3 seconds), and mixed-design analyses of variance (group, speed) were performed with movement time, movement amplitude, acceleration time, and model-observed similarities as dependent variables. Nonparametric tests were performed for number of velocity peaks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nonoperated and postsurgery patients showed similarities at preferred and faster movement speeds but not at slower speed. Postsurgery patients were closer to maximally smoothed motion and differed from healthy controls mainly during slow arm movements (closer to maximal smoothness, larger movement amplitude, shorter movement time, and lower number of peaks; i.e., less movement fragmentation).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Arm kinematic analyses suggest that open surgery stabilizes the shoulder but does not necessarily restore normal movement quality. Patients with recurrent anterior shoulder instability (RASI) seem to implement a "safe" but nonadaptive mode of action whereby preplanned stereotypical movements may be executed without depending on feedback. Rehabilitation of RASI patients should focus on restoring feedback-based movement control. Clinical assessment of RASI patients should include higher order kinematic descriptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Harel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada.
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krasovsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pritsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel. Electronic address: dlieberm@post.tau.ac.il.
authors.forename: Dario G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Liebermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012782:Shoulder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Smoothness; arm kinematics; kinesthesis; open surgery; shoulder instability