Joint movements are essential for the function of human body during the activities of daily living and sports. The movement of human joints varies from normal to those which have an increased range of joint movement (gymnasts) to those with extreme disabling laxity in patients with a connective tissue disorder (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). “Hypermobility" is most commonly used to describe excessive movement. Hypermobility was assessed by using the current criteria of the Beighton score for signs and the Brighton criteria for symptoms of hypermobility in a group of orthopaedic patients attending the specialist knee and shoulder injury clinics. The Beighton score was found to be higher in patients attending for primary ACL reconstruction (mean 2.9, p = 0.002) and revision ACL reconstruction (mean 4, p < 0.001) when compared with the control group. Hypermobility was a risk factor for the failure of ACL reconstruction (30% vs 0%). The mean Beighton score was higher in both the primary shoulder dislocation group (mean difference 1.8, p=0.001) and the recurrent shoulder dislocation group (mean difference 1.4, p=0.004). Bone defects were studied on the CT scan following shoulder dislocations. There was no correlation between hypermobility and the bone defects. The bone defect was a risk factor for recurrent shoulder instability (48% vs 16%). A material testing system was used to assess the tissue laxity of discarded hamstring tendon and shoulder capsule obtained during stabilisation procedures. The mean gradient of slope for both tendon and capsule graphs was 23.8 (range 3.08-52.63). The tissue laxity was compared to the Beighton score, however no correlation was detected between the Beighton score and the gradient of the tissue laxity. An electronic goniometer was used to measure the angle of the MCP joint of the little finger, whilst a force plate system simultaneously measured the force required to hyperextend the MCP joint. The little finger MCP joints of each hand were assessed in this manner in a group of patients undergoing primary ACL reconstruction or open shoulder stabilization. The mean force required to produce the 40 degrees angle at the little finger MCP joint was 0.04 kg with a range from 0-0.11 kg. There was a positive correlation between the gradient of tissue laxity and the force required to produce 40 degrees angle at the little finger of the dominant hand. The expression of Collagen V and Small leucine rich proteoglycans (Decorin and Biglycan) was studied in the skin, hamstring tendon and shoulder capsule of the patients described above attending with shoulder or knee instability. These patients had different levels of hypermobility (as assessed by the Beighton score) and symptoms of hypermobility (as assessed by the Brighton criteria to diagnose Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome). The weaker tendon group was found to have a lower mean Beighton score, while the weaker skin group had a higher mean Beighton score. Collagen V expression was higher in the skin dermal papillae of the weaker group. The Beighton Scores were higher in patients with ACL and shoulder injuries. Hypermobility was a risk factor for the failure of ACL reconstruction. There was no correlation between hypermobility and the bone defects on the CT scan following shoulder dislocation. Bone defects were a risk factor for recurrence. There was no correlation between the Beighton Score and the tissue laxity. There was a correlation between the tissue laxity and the clinical assessment of laxity at the little finger MCPJ by using a force- goniometer system. There was a correlation between the collagen V expression in the dermal papillae of the skin and the Beighton score.

Joint Position Sense (JPS) of the shoulder as determined by repeated repositioning tasks has been performed under different constrained testing conditions. The variability in the testing protocols for JPS testing of the gleno-humeral joint may incorporate different movement patterns, numbers of trials used to derived a specific JPS variable and range of motion. All of these aspects may play an important role in the assessment of G-H JPS testing. When using a new instrument for assessing JPS all of these issues need to be examined to document the optimal testing protocols for subsequent clinical assessments. By undertaking these studies future clinical trials may be more optimally assessed to determine if there are differences between dominant and non-dominant arms as well as the presence of JPS changes in performance associated with pathology and rehabilitation. This study used a 3-dimensional tracking system to examined gleno-humeral JPS using 2 open kinetic chain movement patterns. The 'conventional' 90 degree abducted, externally rotated movement was compared to the hypothetically more functional D2 movement pattern used in proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitatory techniques. These two patterns were tested at different ranges (low and high). Two cohorts (n=12, n=16) of normal healthy athletic males aged 17-35 years, performed matching tasks of both left and right arms. The second cohort (n=16) were assessed with and without strapping the gleno-humeral joint with sports tape. Accuracy (overall bias) and precision (variability) scores were determined for progressively greater numbers of trials. The findings of the study show that estimates of JPS accuracy and precision become more stable from data derived from 5 to 6 matching trials. There were no statistical differences between sides [95%CI ± 1.5cm]. The accuracy but not precision improved as subjects approximated the 'high' end of range in the 'conventional' or D2 pattern. Furthermore, no systematic differences were detected at different ranges of movement or movement patterns with or without the application of sports tape. These findings provide a guide to the number of trials that optimise the testing of the gleno-humeral joint and also suggest that in normal controls the magnitude of differences between sides and movement patterns is similar. These findings also iii indicate that sports tape applied to the shoulder may not significantly change the JPS performance in healthy, athletic males.

Title: Effect of core training on anterior shoulder instability on semiprofessional rugby players. The concept of the problem: With Rugby Union football being a contact-collision sport there is a high risk of injury incidence, especially for the upper extremities. The anterior shoulder dislocation carries the highest incidence and severity and may frequently lead to an anterior shoulder instability and is therefore a risk factor for decreasing sporting performance. Working with anterior shoulder instability on a complex basis, there are many possibilities to influence this problem and on of them is incorporating a "core-training" program into functional training patterns. In sports, the core provides a foundation upon which muscles of the extremties and their coordination rely. Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of anterior shoulder instability on semiprofessional rugby players and, subsequently, to attest the effectivity of the "core-training" exercise program on anterior shoulder instability of these athletes, on explosive power of the upper extremities and the performance of "medvěd"- an examination of the "Integrated Stabilizing System of the Spine" (HSSP) from Kolář. Methods: The theoretical part follows up the given issue as a research and theoretical overview of the current findings based...

Le but de cette thèse a été de redéfinir le diagnostic d’hyperlaxité de l’épaule. Ce travail s’appui sur plusieurs études cliniques, chirurgicales et d’analyse du mouvement. Pour mener ce travail, nous avons tout d’abord défini l’hyperlaxité telle qu’elle est actuellement décrite dans la littérature, ainsi que ses liens avec l’instabilité de l’épaule et son traitement. Ce premier chapitre décrit également les moyens techniques d’analyse du mouvement qui seront utilisés dans cette thèse. Ensuite, plusieurs études ont été proposées. L’étude 2 est une étude chirurgicale, qui a cherché à corréler la laxité capsulaire étudiée en per opératoire et l’hyperlaxité clinique. L’étude 3 a ensuite rechercher les moyens de rendre plus reproductible la mesure de la rotation externe dans le cadre de l’hyperlaxité. Les études 4 et 5 sont des études utilisant l’analyse du mouvement. La première a cherché à fiabiliser la mesure clinique des amplitudes articulaires de l’épaule en tentant d’analyser les facteurs d’erreur de mesure. La deuxième étude a ensuite eut pour but de définir le volume articulaire global du complexe articulaire de l’épaule et de préciser la relation de ce volume avec les différents degrés de liberté de l’épaule. Une dernière étude (Etude 6) a enfin permis de corréler le volume articulaire de l’épaule et les signes cliniques d’hyperlaxité. Enfin, le chapitre « conclusions générales et perspectives » rassemble les éléments de conclusion de ces différents travaux et a pour ambition de redéfinir le diagnostic d’hyperlaxité de l’épaule. Ce chapitre ouvre plusieurs perspectives. La première est de proposer des modifications de l’examen clinique de l’épaule et notamment pour le diagnostic d’hyperlaxité. La seconde est d’utiliser la description volumétrique de l’épaule dans d’autres situations physiologiques ou pathologiques. Enfin, nous rapportons les résultats préliminaires d’une étude anatomique visant à identifier la place respective de chaque articulation dans cette définition volumétrique des amplitudes articulaires de l’épaule. / The aim of this study was to give a new definition to shoulder hyperlaxity. This work was conduced with clinical, surgical andmotion capture experimentations. We first gave a definition of hyperlaxity, as described actually in the literature, and its link with shoulder instability and treatment. Chapter 1 described also motion capture technics used along this work. Then, several studies were proposed. Study n°2 was a surgical one, and tempted to correlate peroperative capsular laxity and hyperlaxity. Therafter, study n°3 looked for an optimized way to examine external rotation of the shoulder. Studies N° 4 and 5 used motion capture analysis to assess clinical shoulder examination patterns and global reachable shoulder space volume. This volume was finally correlated to shoulder sign of hyperlaxity in study n°6. The last chapter, « general conclusions and perspectives » gather together conclusions of each study and redefine hyperlaxity. Finally, we report our prospect, giving first results of an anatomical study exploring the volumetric definition of shoulder range of motion described previously