Efficacy of Hand Grip Strength on Supraspinatus Muscle Activity in Patients with Shoulder Impingement Syndrome

Objective: To assess the effect of applying of 50% of maximum voluntary contraction of hand grip strength on the EMG activity of the supraspinatus muscle in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome.

Design: pretest-post test study.

Setting: Out-patient clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University.

Subjects: Thirty patients participated in this study. Their age ranged from 25 to 40 years.

Main measures: EMG activity of supraspinatus muscle was assessed without and with applying 50% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of the hand grip in 30, 60 and 90 degrees of shoulder abduction.

Results: A Significant positive differences were found between the amplitudes of the supraspinatus activity without and with gripping in 30°, 60° and 90° degrees of shoulder abduction indicating that hand gripping resulted in an increase in the muscle activity with p<0.0001. Conclusion: Applying of 50% MVC of hand grip strength could increase the activity of the supraspinatus muscle in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. This could help in the rehabilitation strategies for such patients.