Electromyographic analysis in patients with multidirectional shoulder instability during pull, forward punch, elevation and overhead throw

Multidirectional shoulder joint instability alters the role of dynamic stabilizers, as a result of which the motion patterns of the muscle around the shoulder joint are also changed. The aim of this study was to compare the muscle activity of patients with multidirectional shoulder instability and the control group during pull, forward punch, elevation and overhead throw. Fifteen subjects with multidirectional shoulder instability and fifteen control subjects with normal, healthy shoulders participated in the study. Both shoulders were tested in all subjects. Signals were recorded by surface EMG from eight different muscles during pull, forward punch, elevation and overhead throw. The mean and standard deviation of MVE% for the different movement types and time broadness values during overhead throw were determined for each muscle in both groups and compared with each other. Test results suggest that in case of patients with multidirectional shoulder instability the various motions are performed in a different way. The results give rise to the assumption that the centralization of the glenohumeral joint and the reduction of instability are attempted to be ensured by the organism through increasing the role of rotator cuff muscles and decreasing the role of the deltoid, biceps brachii and pectoralis maior muscles. The analysis of time broadness shows that in patients with multidirectional shoulder instability, the time difference between the peaks of normalized voluntary electrical activity is significantly greater than in the control group.