Do Sex and Age Influence Scapular and Thoracohumeral Kinematics During a Functional Task Protocol?

Abstract

There is mixed evidence on the role that biological sex plays in shoulder biomechanics despite known differences in musculoskeletal disorder prevalence between males and females. Additionally, advancing age may contribute to shoulder kinematic changes. The purpose of this study was to determine if sex and age influenced scapular and thoracohumeral kinematics during a range of functional tasks. Sixty healthy participants aged 19–63 years (30 males; 30 females) completed a functional task protocol while their upper limb motion was recorded. Scapular and humeral angles were calculated and compared with multiple linear regressions to assess the interaction effects of sex and age. Shoulder kinematics were not different between sex and age groups for many of the functional tasks. However, females had lower humeral external rotation in the overhead lift task (15°, P < .001), and less scapular anterior tilt angles in the forward transfer task (6°, P < .001) than males. Age was positively associated with humeral elevation (R2 = .330, P < .001) and scapular rotation (R2 = .299, P < .001) in the Wash Axilla task. There exist some kinematic differences between sex and with advancing age for select functional tasks, which should be considered for musculoskeletal disorder development.