TY - JOUR
T1 - Upper extremity biomechanics in native and non-native signers
AU - Roman, Gretchen
AU - Peterson, Daniel S.
AU - Ofori, Edward
AU - Vidt, Meghan E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The project described in this publication was supported by start-up funding (Vidt) from Arizona State University, an Academy of Physical Therapy Education Adopt-a-Doc Scholarship (Roman) from the American Physical Therapy Association, and the University of Rochester CTSA award number TL1 TR002000 (Roman) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 - IOS Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Individuals fluent in sign language (signers) born to non-signing, non-deaf parents (non-natives) may have a greater injury risk than signers born to signing, deaf parents (natives). A comprehensive analysis of movement while signing in natives and non-natives has not been completed and could provide insight into the greater injury prevalence of non-natives. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine differences in upper extremity biomechanics between non-natives and natives. METHODS: Strength, 'micro' rests, muscle activation, ballistic signing, joint angle, and work envelope were captured across groups. RESULTS: Non-natives had fewer rests (p=0.002) and greater activation (p=0.008) in non-dominant upper trapezius. For ballistic signing, natives had greater anterior-posterior jerk (p=0.033) and for joint angle, natives demonstrated greater wrist flexion-extension range of motion (p=0.040). Natives also demonstrated greater maximum medial-lateral (p=0.015), and greater minimum medial-lateral (p=0.019) and superior-inferior (p=0.027) positions. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that natives presented with more rests and less activation, but greater ballistic tendencies, joint angle, and envelope compared to non-natives. Additional work should explore potential links between these outcomes and injury risk in signers.
AB - Individuals fluent in sign language (signers) born to non-signing, non-deaf parents (non-natives) may have a greater injury risk than signers born to signing, deaf parents (natives). A comprehensive analysis of movement while signing in natives and non-natives has not been completed and could provide insight into the greater injury prevalence of non-natives. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine differences in upper extremity biomechanics between non-natives and natives. METHODS: Strength, 'micro' rests, muscle activation, ballistic signing, joint angle, and work envelope were captured across groups. RESULTS: Non-natives had fewer rests (p=0.002) and greater activation (p=0.008) in non-dominant upper trapezius. For ballistic signing, natives had greater anterior-posterior jerk (p=0.033) and for joint angle, natives demonstrated greater wrist flexion-extension range of motion (p=0.040). Natives also demonstrated greater maximum medial-lateral (p=0.015), and greater minimum medial-lateral (p=0.019) and superior-inferior (p=0.027) positions. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that natives presented with more rests and less activation, but greater ballistic tendencies, joint angle, and envelope compared to non-natives. Additional work should explore potential links between these outcomes and injury risk in signers.
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U2 - 10.3233/WOR-213622
DO - 10.3233/WOR-213622
M3 - Article
C2 - 34864710
AN - SCOPUS:85122149762
SN - 1051-9815
VL - 70
SP - 1111
EP - 1119
JO - Work
JF - Work
IS - 4
ER -
