Shoulder pain limits range of motion (ROM) and reduces performing activities of daily living (ADL). Objective assessment of shoulder function could be of interest for diagnosing shoulder pathology or functional assessment of the shoulder after therapy. The feasibility of 2 wearable inertial sensors for functional assessment to differentiate between healthy subjects and patients with unilateral shoulder pathology is investigated using parameters as asymmetry. 75 subjects were recruited into this study and were measured for at least 8 h a day with the human activity monitor (HAM) sensor. In addition, patients completed the Disability of the Arm, Should and Hand (DASH) score and the Simple Shoulder Test (SST) score. From 39 patients with a variety of shoulder pathologies 24 (Age: 53.3 ± 10.5;% male: 62.5%) complete datasets were successfully collected. From the 36 age-matched healthy controls 28 (Age: 54.9 ± 5.8;% male = 57.1%) full datasets could be retrieved. Activity parameters were obtained using a self-developed algorithm (Matlab). Outcome parameters were gyroscope and accelerometry-based relative and absolute asymmetry scores (affected/unaffected; dominant/non-dominant) of movement intensity.Background
Methods