Abstract
Glenohumeral arthritis (GHA) decreases shoulder range of motion, yet the extent of glenohumeral motion loss and accompanying whole-body compensations are not well quantified. Eighty-six patients with GHA completed an overhead reach task using both symptomatic and asymptomatic shoulders in a motion-tracking laboratory. Range of motion and peak angles of symptomatic to asymptomatic contralateral shoulders were compared. The symptomatic shoulder demonstrated 38° less flexion (84° symptomatic vs. 122° asymptomatic, P < .001), 4° less abduction (25° vs. 29°, P < .001), and 22° less internal rotation (21° vs. 43°, P < .001) compared to the asymptomatic shoulder. Patients compensated for these deficits via greater lumbar extension (6° vs. 5°, P < .01), greater lumbar rotation (9° vs. 3°, P < .001), contralateral pelvic rotation (6° vs. 2°, P < .001), reduced cervical flexion (9° vs. 18°, P < .001) with altered lateral bending (7° vs. 11°, P < .001), and greater elbow flexion (26° vs. 4°, P .001). GHA is associated with substantial loss of shoulder motion during an overhead reach task that mimics daily activities, which leads to compensatory increases in cervical, lumbar, pelvic, and elbow kinematics.
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Morriss N, Castle P, Greif DN, Pezzullo J, Ambalavanar M, Manning J, et al. Glenohumeral arthritis impairs shoulder mobility and promotes dynamic compensatory strategies during overhead reach. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2026 Aug. doi:10.1016/j.jse.2026.02.019. PMID: 41791452.
Metadata sourced from the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed). OrthoGlobe curates but does not host the full-text article.