Correlation between the distance of scapular anterior tilting and the ratio of internal and external rotation angle of shoulder in supine position.
In-Cheol Jeon
PMID 30349173WHAT IT FOUND
In twenty healthy participants, greater scapular anterior tilting was linked to lower internal rotation compared with external rotation.
The study did not test treatment effects.
Key findings
01Twenty healthy participants showed a significant negative correlation between scapular anterior tilting distance and the ratio of internal and external rotation angles in supine position (r=-0.851; -0.253, respectively; p<0.05).
02The participants were healthy young adults (mean age 23.4 ± 2.2 years), and the authors state that results cannot be generalized to patients or elderly populations.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only twenty healthy participants were studied, and the authors state that results cannot be generalized to patients or elderly populations. The study measured a correlation, so it cannot show that one measure causes the other. Sensor placement on skin may have introduced movement error. Pectoralis minor tightness was not measured, even though the authors discuss it. No treatment was tested, so the paper cannot tell therapists whether any intervention changes scapular tilting or rotation.
Declared interests
The work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2017R1C1B5076172), and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the negative correlation as proof that scapular tilting causes restricted internal rotation or that treating scapular tilting will improve rotation. The study measured twenty healthy adults and did not test a treatment.