The effect of exercise types for rotator cuff repair patients on activities of shoulder muscles and upper limb disability.
Jeong-Il Kang, Young-Jun Moon, Hyun Choi and 3 others
PMID 27821933WHAT IT FOUND
Both open-chain and closed-chain shoulder exercises after rotator cuff repair improved muscle activity and reduced arm disability over three weeks.
The groups changed muscle fatigue measures differently, but disability scores did not differ.
Key findings
01Both groups showed significant increases in supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and anterior deltoid muscle activity and significant improvement in upper limb disability.
02The groups changed differently on shoulder muscle activity and muscle fatigue measures.
03Upper limb disability improvement did not differ significantly between the groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 20 men, all aged 40 to 55, with right grade 2 supraspinatus rupture repaired, so it may not apply to women, other ages, other tear grades, or other shoulders. There was no control group that did not receive the prescribed exercise, so the study cannot show improvement compared with no exercise. Both groups also received universal physical therapy, icing, and TENS after exercise, so the contribution of the exercise type alone cannot be separated. The authors state the 3-week intervention period was very short, and that patients' activities of daily living were not controlled.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that closed-chain exercise is clearly better for shoulder function. Disability scores improved in both groups and did not differ significantly between groups, and all participants also received universal physical therapy, icing, and TENS, so the exercise type alone cannot be separated.