Correlation of psychomotor findings and the outcome of a physical therapy program to treat scapular dyskinesis.

Background: This pilot study was performed to investigate the influence of psychomotor skills on the outcome of a specific nonoperative program (scapular dyskinesis-program) to treat scapular dyskinesis.
Materials and Methods: Fifteen patients (group A) with positive and 11 patients (group B) with a negative outcome after physical therapy were included. To test the psychomotor skills of the patients the Motorische Leistungsserie (MLS) was used. The test results of the patients of group A were then compared with those of group B.
Results: For 2 parameters, a significant correlation could be detected. However, due to the small sample size, a clear but statistically insignificant difference could be found for several other factors.
Conclusion: We, therefore, hypothesize that psychomotor skills testing is a potential method to predict the outcome of nonoperative treatment for scapular dyskinesis. Further investigations with a larger sample size are necessary to confirm this assumption.
(Copyright © 2011 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)