RR-PL-1042

Monday 09:20, Palau de Congressos, Hall 5, Room 7

THREE-DIMENSIONAL MEASUREMENT OF POSTURE AND MOVEMENTS OF THE NECK, SHOULDER AND SCAPULA. Gould JA, Kuisma R, Smith A, Lee R; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Hong Kong. PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to examine the reliability of the FasTrakÔ, an electromagnetic tracking device, in establishing the position and motion of the neck, shoulder and scapula; three-dimensional movement in asymptomatic subjects; the movement relationship between the neck and shoulder during functional tasks, and to examine the differences between male and females in position and kinematics of the neck, shoulder and scapula. RELEVANCE: Neck pain causes considerable inconvenience, discomfort and pain to the sufferer and costs workplaces dearly in terms of reduced productivity and absenteeism. Postural re-education and restoration of motion of the neck, shoulder and scapula are commonly used by clinicians in the treatment of neck pain disorders, however there is little conclusive evidence that there is a relationship between neck pain, posture and motion and more importantly, there is little normative data available. SUBJECTS: Thirty-five asymptomatic subjects between the ages of 20 to 45 years were recruited. METHOD: The study used the FasTrakÔ electromagnetic system to measure postural angles, spinal curvature and three-dimensional kinematics of the neck, shoulder and scapula in an asymptomatic population. The maximal magnitude and patterns of movement of the physiological motions and functional tasks of the neck, shoulder and scapula were examined. ANALYSES: The statistical analyses used a SPSS package. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(1,3)) was used to determine reliability and the statistical significance was examined with the t-test.  RESULTS: The FasTrakÔ system exhibited high reliability for repeated measures for all variables (mean ICC=0.96). Statistical analysis revealed gender differences existed for the cranio-vertebral angle (p<0.008) and neck extension (p<0.01). The results also showed side-to-side differences for shoulder sagittal (p<0.001) and horizontal postural angles (p<0.003) and neck lateral bending magnitude (p<0.007). The functional tasks investigated for the first time in this study revealed a consistent pattern of motion of the neck and shoulder. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the use of the FasTrakÔ as a reliable measuring tool of postural angles, spinal curvature and three-dimensional kinematic data of the neck, shoulder and scapula. It has also established normative data for the maximal range of motion and the pattern of accompanying planes of motion in physiological motions of the neck, shoulder and scapula. The study has also provided new information regarding the pattern of motion of the neck and shoulder during three functional tasks.