HU OTD Students Publish in American Journal of Occupational Therapy

The scapula is an essential functional component of the upper extremity, serving as the foundation of shoulder motion to position the arm and hand in space. A reliable clinical method of measuring its motion relative to the ribcage at the atypical scapulothoracic joint has proven difficult. Scapular protraction and retraction, components of pushing and pulling with the arms as when rowing a boat, are particularly complex and challenging to quantify.
Recently, a group of Huntington University OTD students, in partnership with the Jorgensen YMCA, completed a reliability study using a novel goniometric technique to measure scapular protraction and retraction. The goniometric method involves using several key bony landmarks – the superior angle and acromion – of the scapula as reference points to measure angular motion relative to the frontal plane (see photo).
To assess the technique, the research team established a collaborative agreement with the Jorgensen YMCA and recruited its members for voluntary participation in the study. OTD faculty Nate Short and Shelly Mays completed independent goniometric measurements of the scapula on a group of healthy adults. Comparative measurements of the study sample (n=84) indicated a low standard error of measure (SEM), with a mean of less than 4 degrees’ difference between the independent measurements. This finding indicated a high degree of inter-rater reliability, or agreement between the independent measurements, suggesting the new technique may be a clinically-acceptable method to quantify scapular motion. Additionally, the findings support the idea that scapular protraction, or slouching of the shoulders, increases with age while overall scapular mobility decreases.
The study was recently accepted for publication in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) and is slated for print in an edition later this year. Congratulations to the OTD students on the significant findings of their study as well as a unique contribution to clinical practice and the evidence-base of the OT profession. The research team would like to thank HU, the OTD faculty, and the Jorgenson YMCA for their support and collaboration.