Proprioception of the shoulder after stroke

Niessen MH, Veeger DH, Koppe PA, Konijnenbelt MH, van Dieën J, Janssen TW. Proprioception of the shoulder after stroke. Objective: To investigate position sense and kinesthesia of the shoulders of stroke patients. Design: Case-control study. Setting: A rehabilitation center. Participants: A total of 22 inpatients with stroke and 10 healthy control subjects. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Angular displacement (in degrees) for threshold to detection of passive motion (TDPM) tests and absolute error (in degrees) for passive reproduction of joint position tests. Results: For patients, the TDPM for internal and external rotation was significantly higher for both the contralateral (paretic) side (internal, 7.92°±7.19°; external, 8.46°±8.87°) and the ipsilateral (nonparetic) side (internal, 4.86°±5.03°; external, 6.09°±9.15°) compared with the control group (internal, 1.83°±1.09°; external, 1.71°±.85°). Also, for internal rotation, TDPM was significantly higher for patients on the contralateral side compared with the ipsilateral side. For passive reproduction of joint position tests, no differences were found. Conclusions: Both the contralateral and ipsilateral shoulders of stroke patients showed impaired TDPM. Passive reproduction of joint position does not seem to be affected as a result of a stroke. The control of the muscle spindles and central integration or processing problems of the afferent signals provided by muscle spindles might cause these effects. © 2008 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation