Changes in the Subacromial Space according to the Angle of Shoulder Abduction

Subacromial space is anatomically bounded to the acromion and the humeral head in consists of the superficial glenoid fossa. By narrowing the subacromial space, this is likely to occur such as rotator cuff injury and shoulder impingement syndrome. Therefore, the aim of this study was by comparison analysis to distance according to subacromial space the abduction angle of the shoulder joint to using ultrasonography. Thirty healthy adult males were recruited and agreed to participate as the subject in this study. This study was single group repeated measurements design and measured subacromial space according to angle of the shoulder abduction setting to 0°, 30°, 60° and 90° using ultrasonography. All measurements was used one-way repeated ANOVA to analysis difference between the variables. The result of study, there were significant differences among shoulder abduction 0°(11.30 mm), 30°(9.40 mm), 60°(8.01 mm) and 90°(7.10 mm). In conclusion, current study confirmed that subacromial space had an effect on the angle of shoulder abduction. Clinically it is considered that ultrasonography measurement of subacromial space helps to the differential diagnosis of rotator cuff injury and shoulder impingement syndrome.