Exercise therapy may affect scapular position and motion in individuals with scapular dyskinesis: a systematic review of clinical trials

Background Therapeutic exercise for scapular muscles is suggested to be effective in reducing shoulder pain in patients with rotator cuff disorders, whereas its effectiveness on scapular position and motion has remained unclear. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to investigate whether exercise therapy improves scapular position and motion in individuals with scapular dyskinesis. Methods This study is a wide systematic review including any type of clinical trial in which the effect of any type of therapeutic exercise, including scapular muscle strengthening, stretching, and scapular stabilization exercise, is investigated in adult participants. Results Twenty studies were included in this systematic review. Studies were categorized on the basis of the techniques they used to measure scapular position and motion and the included participants. Methodologic quality of the studies was assessed by the Cochrane tool of assessing the risk of bias. Eight studies used 3-dimensional techniques for measuring scapular motions. Among them, 5 studies showed significant effects of exercise on scapular motion, of which 3 studies investigated individuals with subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS). The other 12 studies used 2-dimensional measurement techniques, of which 8 studies reported significant effects of exercise on scapular position and motion both in SIS patients and in asymptomatic individuals. However, their methodologic quality was debatable. Therefore, there was conflicting evidence for the effect of exercise on scapular dyskinesis. Conclusion There is a lack of evidence for beneficial effects of exercise in improving scapular position and motion in individuals with scapular dyskinesis. However, exercise is beneficial in reducing pain and disability in individuals with SIS.