Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27504044›Full record

ArticlePhysiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada2016

Shoulder Retractor Strengthening Exercise to Minimize Rhomboid Muscle Activity and Subacromial Impingement.

Jeremy Fennell, Chetan P Phadke, George Mochizuki, Farooq Ismail, Chris Boulias

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Jeremy FennellSpasticity Research Program, West Park Healthcare Centre; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
Chetan P PhadkeSpasticity Research Program, West Park Healthcare Centre; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Faculty of Health, York University.
George MochizukiFaculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto.
Farooq IsmailSpasticity Research Program, West Park Healthcare Centre; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
Chris BouliasSpasticity Research Program, West Park Healthcare Centre; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.
University of Toronto · CAWest Park Healthcare Centre · CASunnybrook Hospital · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe investigated the best position for shoulder retractor strengthening exercise to maximize middle trapezius activity and minimize rhomboid major activity. Although both trapezius and rhomboids are scapular retractors, rhomboids also act as downward rotators of the scapula, which can worsen subacromial impingement.

methodsTwelve healthy participants (age 30 [SD 6] y) with no history of shoulder pain were recruited for this study, which used fine-wire electromyography to examine maximal muscle activation of the middle trapezius and rhomboid major muscle fibres in four different positions: with the shoulder in 90° abduction with elbow completely extended and (1) shoulder internal rotation, (2) shoulder neutral rotation, (3) shoulder external rotation, and (4) rowing (shoulder neutral rotation and elbow flexed 90°). The ratio of trapezius to rhomboid muscles was compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

resultsMuscle activation ratio during shoulder retraction exercise was significantly lower by 22% (i.e., rhomboid was more active than middle trapezius) when performed with the shoulder in rowing position (elbow flexed) than with the shoulder in external rotation (elbow extended) position (p=0.031). All four positions produced coactivation of trapezius and rhomboids. DISCUSSION: Rowing position may not be the best position for shoulder retractor strengthening in patients with impingement syndrome. The preferable position for maximizing middle trapezius activity and minimizing rhomboid activity may be shoulder external rotation with elbow extended.

Indexed as

electromyographyresistance trainingshouldersuperficial back muscles

Identifiers

PMID27504044
PMCPMC4961314
OpenAlexW2295746781

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.