Open and closed kinetic chain exercises improve shoulder joint reposition sense equally in healthy subjects.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of open and closed kinetic chain exercise on shoulder joint reposition sense. DESIGN AND SETTING Subjects with no previous upper extremity injury participated in a 6-week exercise program consisting of 3 sessions per week. SUBJECTS Thirty-nine healthy male military cadets: 13 each in the open, closed, and control groups. MEASUREMENTS Each subject was pretested and posttested for both active and passive joint reposition sense at 30 degrees external rotation, 30 degrees internal rotation, and 10 degrees from full external rotation. RESULTS The open and closed kinetic chain groups de- creased in reposition sense error scores in comparison with the control group, but no difference was found between the 2 training groups. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that shoulder joint reposition sense can be enhanced with training in healthy subjects. Also, open and closed kinetic chain exercises appear to be equally effective in improving shoulder joint reposition sense.