Glenohumeral Stiffness Response Between Men and Women for Anterior, Posterior, and Inferior Translation.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify and compare the glenohumeral stiffness response in anterior-directed, posterior-directed, and inferior-directed translations in healthy men and women. DESIGN AND SETTING: We used a 2 division on times 3 factorial design and employed a device capable of measuring glenohumeral joint displacement as a function of force to gather kinematic data during a single test session. SUBJECTS: Twenty subjects with healthy nondominant shoulders participated in the study. MEASUREMENTS: Force-displacement measures were taken in the anterior, posterior, and inferior translational directions of the glenohumeral joint. These measurements simulated common laxity tests used at the shoulder. RESULTS: Analysis of variance revealed a nonsignificant sex division on times direction interaction effect (P >.05). The main effect for sex and direction was also not significant (P >.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that (1) glenohumeral stiffness is widely distributed in healthy shoulders, (2) glenohumeral stiffness is not significantly different between men and women, and (3) glenohumeral stiffness is not significantly different among directions of translations.