Maximum one-handed pull force and its relation to shoulder geometry

The current study proposes a method of geometrical description of the shoulder articulating surfaces in order to deduce an unrecognized relationship between shoulder geometry and strength during a one-handed pulling task. The paper reports the results of a study of the strength of 12 participants during one-handed pulling correlated with the geometries of their shoulder joints derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The measurements of a mean force during pulling were recorded when an upper arm was adducted in the frontal plane from 5 to 30 degrees during maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). It was observed in the study that an area determined by the height and width of the glenoid fossa closely relates to the mean force during pulling.