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Review
. 2020 Apr 24;17(8):2974.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17082974.

Scapular Dyskinesis: From Basic Science to Ultimate Treatment

Umile Giuseppe Longo  1 , Laura Risi Ambrogioni  1 , Alessandra Berton  1 , Vincenzo Candela  1 , Carlo Massaroni  2 , Arianna Carnevale  1   2 , Giovanna Stelitano  1 , Emiliano Schena  2 , Ara Nazarian  3 , Joseph DeAngelis  3 , Vincenzo Denaro  1
Affiliations
Review

Scapular Dyskinesis: From Basic Science to Ultimate Treatment

Umile Giuseppe Longo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: This study intends to summarize the causes, clinical examination, and treatments of scapular dyskinesis (SD) and to briefly investigate whether alteration can be managed by a precision rehabilitation protocol planned on the basis of features derived from clinical tests. Methods: We performed a comprehensive search of PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL and EMBASE databases using various combinations of the keywords "Rotator cuff", "Scapula", "Scapular Dyskinesis", "Shoulder", "Biomechanics" and "Arthroscopy". Results: SD incidence is growing in patients with shoulder pathologies, even if it is not a specific injury or directly related to a particular injury. SD can be caused by multiple factors or can be the trigger of shoulder-degenerative pathologies. In both cases, SD results in a protracted scapula with the arm at rest or in motion. Conclusions: A clinical evaluation of altered shoulder kinematics is still complicated. Limitations in observing scapular motion are mainly related to the anatomical position and function of the scapula itself and the absence of a tool for quantitative SD clinical assessment. High-quality clinical trials are needed to establish whether there is a possible correlation between SD patterns and the specific findings of shoulder pathologies with altered scapular kinematics.

Keywords: arthroscopy; biomechanics; rotator cuff; scapula; scapular dyskinesis; shoulder.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representation of scapular posterior view (a), axillary view (b), lateral view (c), anterior view (d).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2009 flow diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Shoulder horizontal abduction stretching at 90° (a) and 150° (b).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Representation of push up exercises (a), lawnmower exercises (b), and resisted scapular retraction (c).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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