The Impact of OKC Exercises and TRX Exercises on Shoulder Joint Proprioception in Overhead Athletes With Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Sub-acromial impingement syndrome (SAIS) is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain and affects shoulder joint proprioception. The closed kinetic chain (CKC) exercises with sling are more effective and safer than open kinetic chain (OKC) exercises. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of OKC and total-body resistance exercises (TRX) sling training on shoulder joint position sense (JPS) in overhead athletes with shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS).

This article was a randomized control trial (RCT) study conducted in Kerman City, Iran, in 2019. The research sample included 33 overhead athletes with SIS who were randomly classified into three groups: OKC, sling, and control groups. Joint position sense (JPS) was evaluated in external rotation (ER), internal rotation (IR), and abduction of the dominant arm in the target angle concerning the shoulder range of motion with the Leighton flexometer. The obtained data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

The post-intervention results showed that a significant difference was observed between groups (ER, P<0.001; IR, P<0.001; abduction P<0.001). The change in the sling exercises group was significantly higher in ER, and IR, except abduction JPS than in OKC (P=0.001, P=0.001, P=0.235, respectively) and control groups (P<0.001, P<0.001, P<0.001, respectively). Change in the OKC group was significantly higher in ER, IR, and abduction JPS (P=0.001, P=0.019, P<0.001, respectively) than in the control group. The OKC and sling exercise improved the shoulder JPS of overhead athletes with SIS.

The study results showed that the sling exercises were more effective than the OKC exercise for the shoulder JPS because these exercises were CKC and performed on an unstable level.